Apocalypse Tale
by Silver Hyacinth
Summary: Natsu is a famous zombie hunter, and has been solo ever since the apocalypse began. But when he meets an alluring, raven-haired boy in an abandoned shop, he considers, for the first time, taking a partner. (Gratsu Zombie Apocalypse AU.)
1. A Boy Named Ice

**A/N:** I went back and did some revisions for this chapter, just wanted to let you guys know.

* * *

 **Chapter One**

* * *

Natsu lay flattened on the roof of an abandoned building, his sniper rifle light between his fingers, his target firmly in the center of his scope. "Gotcha," he whispered, closing one eye and pressing down on the trigger. The single shot rang out, and Natsu's target—a middle-aged Z with half its torso missing—crumpled to the ground, its growls silenced for good.

Natsu sighed and stood, slinging his rifle over his back and gathering up his supplies. It was time to move on again.

The sun was just beginning to rise, and the streets were growing calmer and quieter with the absence of the Zs, but Natsu was still alert. He hadn't survived for fourteen months of apocalypse just to die from being careless.

The few Zs Natsu saw roaming the streets he left alone. Of course, he wanted to live up to his famous nickname, but he was just too tired. It had been a long night, and he just wanted to find some place safe to hole up for the night.

Turning down an alleyway Natsu knew was clear from his trip to the roof, he made his way towards a small clothing shop he'd seen earlier. His current clothes were blood spattered and torn, and Natsu didn't have the time nor will to wash them, so he had to raid stores every couple of days.

Making sure the area was clear of Zs, Natsu stepped over the ledge of a broken window and started eyeing the racks of clothes, searching for his size. He was just tugging a black shirt off a rack when he heard a groan.

Natsu stiffened, and his hand flew to the pistol at his hip. He flipped it cleanly through his fingers and glanced around warily. "Could've sworn this place was clean," he murmured to himself, his finger hovering over the trigger of the gun as he made his way towards the origin point of the sound.

Nudging open a door with one booted foot, Natsu slowly edged his way into the small storage room, his eyes roving in search of a threat. Following the groans towards the back, Natsu saw a room that was blocked off by a myriad of rubble.

 _Maybe I should just leave the Z trapped in there_ , Natsu thought, lowering his gun with a sigh. _I don't feel like adding to my score any more today._

But then another, different noise brushed the air. Words. Well, more like a single word, spoken in barely a whisper; "Help."

"Holy shit," Natsu said quietly, putting away his gun and kneeling to dig through the rubble.

Zs didn't talk, so whoever had spoken was still alive. Although in what condition, Natsu wouldn't be able to say until he dug them out of the rubble. Probably not good, considering how much of it there was, and how heavy it was.

Straining with all his might to remove a particularly stubborn plank of wood, a pair of legs were revealed, dressed in loose black jeans. Natsu dug even more, revealing first a torso, and then arms and shoulders. Finally a head appeared, and Natsu stopped briefly, navy blue eyes catching his olive green ones.

"Your hair is pink," were the first words out of the boy's mouth, and Natsu was immediately annoyed.

"How are you even _alive_ still?" Natsu asked irritably as he tugged the last of the rubble off with a jerk. The boy shrugged and started to stand, but crumpled when he put weight on his leg and fell against Natsu, who caught him with strong arms. Their eyes locked, and for some unknown reason, Natsu's heartbeat increased irrationally.

"Thanks," the boy finally said, breaking Natsu out of his daze.

"No problem," Natsu said, releasing the boy. "You're the first survivor I've seen in... a while."

The boy tried to right himself, and Natsu had to grab him by the arm to prevent him from tipping over again.

"Sorry," the boy said, brushing raven locks out of his eyes with a shaky hand. "I think I might've sprained my ankle."

"That's gonna be hell out here," Natsu said, standing back with his hands on his hips. "How long were you under there, anyway?"

The boy shrugged. "Dunno. A couple days. Five or six, give or take."

Natsu gave him an appreciative, almost approving smirk. "You're one tough bastard, eh?"

The boy grinned. "Got that right. I'm Gray, by the way."

"Natsu," Natsu said, shaking the hand he extended. "But most people just call me Ten Thousand."

Gray raised an eyebrow questioningly. "Why?"

Natsu turned and shifted the gun on his back to make it more comfortable. "It's how many Zs I've killed."

"Impressive," Gray called after him. "In fact, I think I've heard of you."

Natsu turned back around, annoyed, hearing the smirk in Gray's voice. The pinkette raised an eyebrow. "Have you now?"

Gray crossed his arms and leaned back against a pillar, smiling. "Yes. I have a nickname of my own, you know. Perhaps you've heard of me." Natsu raised an eyebrow, waiting.

"They call me _Ice_ ," Gray said, his navy eyes sparkling.

Natsu's mind immediately recognized the name, and his mouth would've dropped open if Natsu hadn't stopped it. Finally, olive eyes narrowed, he said, "I don't believe you."

"Want me to prove it to you?" Gray asked, raising that infernal eyebrow again.

Natsu crossed his arms. "Please do," he said, looking unimpressed.

Gray, one hand braced against the pillar, reached up to pull down the collar of his dark t-shirt. There was a tattoo there; the navy blue fairy-like mark that Ice was famous for.

Natsu blinked. "Well, I'll be damned. What's one of the top Z hunters doing in a place like this?"

"I could ask you the same thing," Gray remarked, watching Natsu through cold, calculating eyes as he leaned against a pillar across from him.

"I'm just a natural wanderer," Natsu told him, shrugging. "No one else to hold me back."

"Maybe we could help each other out," Gray said with a smirk.

"I work alone."

"As do I. But, you see, I'm in no condition to fight off the dead at the moment, so perhaps you could lend me some assistance."

Natsu narrowed his eyes. "What kind of... _assistance_?"

Gray shrugged. "Simple. I just need to get back to the Outpost. They'll fix me up, and I can rest there until I can take another job."

Natsu smirked. "And what's in it for me?"

Gray smiled. "How would you like a spot in the Outpost? I can make that happen."

Natsu froze. The Outpost was a huge survivor camp in the east where hunters gathered to take jobs and take shelter.

Gray was playing him, he realized. Had been playing him this whole time. He'd known who Natsu was the _entire time_. And he knew that Ten Thousand was known to always work alone; always on the run. But he had played some psychiatrist bullshit with knowing that Natsu didn't _like_ always being on the run. He would always work alone, that was for sure, but he was sick of always changing location. And Gray had seen right through it all, knowing just what to use to bribe him... _Just how smart_ is _this guy?_ Natsu asked himself, glancing at the smirking Gray nervously.

"So?" Gray asked. "What will it be?"

Natsu sighed in frustration and tore a hand through his hair. "Fine. But if we both get killed, it's all on you." He walked over to Gray and wrapped an arm around him, supporting him as they walked back into the main area of the store.

"Before we go," Natsu said, leaning Gray up against a nearby rack, "I need some clothes."

"What's wrong with the ones you have now?" Gray asked incredulously as Natsu took off his pack and rifle and set them on the floor.

Natsu shrugged. "Blood-stained, torn."

Gray raised that eyebrow again. "Can't you just mend and wash them?"

"Nope."

"Okay then," Gray muttered, annoyed at the simple answer.

Natsu gathered up the black shirt from earlier and a pair of cargo pants and stripped off his black leather jacket and white scarf, reaching for the hem of his shirt.

"Hey!" Gray protested. "What are you doing?!"

"Getting dressed," Natsu responded, slipping out of his shirt.

"Well, don't do it in front of me!"

"Don't worry," Natsu said with a smirk, pleased by Gray's discomfort. "I'm not shy."

Gray tried to look anywhere but at Natsu, but he found his eyes drawn back anyway. Natsu was tan and muscular; clearly a workout fanatic back in the old world. There was a long scar on his neck, which was partly concealed by his pink locks. His muscles flexed as he pulled on the new shirt, and Gray took a deep breath, his heart rate speeding up.

Natsu undid his belt. "You better not be staring at my ass, Ice Princess," he said, making Gray jump and hurriedly look away. "Don't flatter yourself," Gray huffed, annoyed.

Natsu only chuckled, gathering up his things from the floor.

"Let's go. I don't want to risk Zs hearing us."

Gray nodded in agreement as Natsu wrapped an arm around him, helping him limp towards the street.

As soon as they were in the open, a garbled groan could be heard. "Shit," Natsu cursed. "They've heard us."

Gray was about to respond when a shot rang out, and there was the sound of a body hitting the ground. Gray and Natsu traced the sound to the top of a nearby building, where a curvy blonde girl was getting up, sticking a stand into her backpack and stringing her sniper rifle over her shoulder.

Gray's eyes lit up, and he waved frantically, attempting to get the girl's attention. It worked, and she held up two fingers, signaling two minutes. When she met them on the ground, the blonde immediately hugged Gray. "Ice, what the hell happened to you?! I was worried sick. You didn't show up for _seven days_!"

"Whoa, calm down, Angel. You're gonna attract every Z within a mile of here."

"Sorry," she said, brushing a hand through her hair. "Everyone was just worried."

"I'm fine," Gray said. He jerked a thumb at Natsu. "All thanks to this guy, that is. I got trapped under some rubble, and he dug me out."

Angel smiled at Natsu. "Thank you. Everyone at the Outpost was terrified Ice was killed or something."

Natsu smiled slightly. "No problem. I'm Natsu, by the way."

"Lucy," Angel said, shaking the hand Natsu offered. "Angel is just my nickname."

"Why?" Natsu asked, raising his eyebrows.

"Just because of this little thing I say. My nickname has a base to it, just like Ice's, and yours."

Natsu blinked. "You know who I am?"

"Of course," Lucy said, smiling. "Strange pink hair, white scarf, solo surviver; all of Ten Thousand's trade marks."

Natsu sighed. "Is everyone going to bring up the hair?"

Gray and Lucy chuckled. "Well, to be fair," Gray said, "it _is_ weird to have pink hair. And it looks so _natural_."

Natsu shrugged. "That's because it _is_ natural."

Gray and Lucy blinked at him disbelievingly. "It is!" Natsu insisted.

"Sure," Gray said, rolling his eyes.

Before Natsu could snap a reply back, Lucy said, "Let's get back to the Outpost. Gramps is worried sick about you."

"Lead the way."


	2. The Outpost

**Chapter Two**

* * *

The Outpost was a large, fifteen story hotel, surrounded by a tall electric fence topped with barbed wire. Natsu gave an appreciative whistle as they approached the gate, which swung open once Lucy flashed a small object at one of the guards. The gates closed again as soon as they were through, and Natsu glanced around at all the people walking around. Most of them were either in their teens or early twenties, and held a small arsenal of weapons.

"I brought Ice back!" Lucy yelled as they walked into the hotel's lobby.

Immediately a crowd was gathered around them, and Natsu felt slightly overwhelmed. Cries of, "Ice!" and, "Welcome back!" flooded Natsu's ears.

Someone pushed through the crowd, saying, "Make way, guys! Give them some space."

"Lyon," Gray said with a grin, clapping the boy on the back.

"Gray," Lyon said, smirking. "Had a little trouble on your job, did you?"

Gray shrugged. "Only a little."

Lyon laughed. "So," he said, looking to Natsu. "Who's this?"

"I'm Natsu," Natsu said before Gray could introduce him.

"Ah. But, let me guess..." Lyon squinted at him, looking him over. "You're Ten Thousand, right?"

Natsu sighed and nodded. "Let me guess: the pink hair?"

Lyon snorted. "Hardly. More like the scarf."

Natsu blinked, surprised. "The scarf..." he said slowly. He laughed a little. "That's a first. Well, anyway, I brought Ice back, so..."

Gray smiled. "Right. Come with me." Gray directed Natsu down the hallway, leaving Lyon and the rest behind. They headed towards the stairs, and hobbled up to the third floor. "My room's that one," Gray said, pointing. Natsu shuffled over and Gray pulled out a key, insetting it into the slot and pushing open the door.

After Gray was seated on the couch, Natsu looked around, surveying the room. It was a decent size, with a queen-sized bed, two chairs, a couch, a coffee table, a desk, a bathroom, a large cabinet, and two bookshelves that Gray had presumably drug up the stairs himself.

"Nice setup," Natsu said, fingering the spine of Treasure Island.

"Thanks," Gray said from the couch, where he was rolling up the leg of his jeans to check out his ankle.

"Let me help you," Natsu said, walking over and kneeling in front of Gray.

"You don't have to-" Gray tried to protest, but Natsu was already untying the laces of Gray's boot. He gently pulled it off, then the sock underneath. He winced when he caught sight of the ankle. It was swollen and a deep, purplish blue, speckled with red.

"How bad is it?" Gray asked, seeing Natsu's face pale.

"Um, you said you thought it was _sprained_?"

"Yeah."

"Well, I think it's _broken_ ," Natsu said, staring at Gray like he was an alien.

"Oh," Gray said, sighing. "What a pain."

"Jesus," Natsu muttered. "What _are_ you?"

Gray shrugged. "I just have a high pain tolerance. Always have."

Natsu stood from his crouch, looking at him disbelievingly. "Yeah, I'll say. Is there some doctor here I can call?"

Gray nodded. "Sky. Well, her real name's Wendy. But yeah, she's the doctor here."

Natsu nodded. "Where is she?"

"In the infirmary on floor one, probably."

Natsu nodded and made for the door. "I'll get her for you."

"Wait!" Gray called, making Natsu jump. He turned, and Gray cleared his throat. "I'm, sorry- I just- Um, thanks. For earlier, I mean," he said awkwardly, running a hand through his hair.

Natsu shrugged and smiled. "No problem."

Gray watched him leave, his heart twitching like a butterfly. What was _wrong_ with him?

* * *

When Natsu reached the first floor, the door to the infirmary was open, and Natsu saw a small girl of about thirteen with dark blue hair and light brown eyes helping a bandaged-up, red-headed girl drink a glass of water. "Uh, sorry to bother you," Natsu said when she was finished, "but I'm looking for, um, Sky. Do you know where she is?"

The blue-haired girl set down the glass and wiped her hands on her jeans. "That's me. What can I help you with?"

Natsu's eyes widened. " _You're_ Wendy? The doctor?"

The girl nodded. "Yes. What did you need?"

Natsu swallowed back his shock and said, "Uh, Gr- Ice is hurt. I think his ankle might be broken."

"Oh, dear," Wendy said, looking worried. "I'll gather my things and be up at once."

Natsu nodded as she fetched a small kit from a nearby cabinet and started ahead of him towards the stairs. When they arrived, Natsu held open the door for Wendy, and they went over to where Gray sat on the couch, his foot propped up on the coffee table. He smiled at Wendy and gave a little wave. "Hey."

"Don't you 'Hey." me," Wendy said, glaring at him as she set down her kit. "This is your sixth injury in as many weeks. You need to be more careful!"

Gray grinned. "Careful? Me? You know me better than that, Wen."

The girl sighed. "I'm sorry," she said, turning to look at Natsu, "but I don't believe I caught your name."

"I'm Natsu."

"Well, Natsu, would you mind assisting me?"

"Uh, sure," Natsu said nervously, moving to stand beside her. "What do I have to do?"

"I just need you to hold him down. I have to pop the bone back in place."

"I'll be fi- AOI!" Gray's protest turned into a yowl as Wendy moved his ankle. She gave him an expectant look, and he sighed and settled back. "Fine. Hold away."

Natsu did as Wendy instructed, placing one hand on Gray's chest and the other on his arm.

"Okay, get ready," Wendy warned, and Gray nodded and gripped the couch's armrest tightly. Slowly, she began moving Gray's ankle to the left and up. He immediately flinched, and his nails dug into the couch. As Wendy moved up further, he thrashed wildly.

"Keep him still!" Wendy yelled, trying to keep his ankle still.

"I'm _trying_!" Natsu yelled back.

"Well _try_ _harder_! I don't care what you have to do, just _keep him still_!"

Natsu growled through his teeth and leaped onto the couch, straddling Gray and pinning his arms to his sides. "Keep _still_ ," he hissed. "What happened to that high pain tolerance, huh?"

Gray looked up at him, his navy eyes brimming with irritation. "Shut. The. Hell. _Up_ ," he hissed through gritted teeth.

"Then _keep still_ ," Natsu hissed back, narrowing his eyes.

Eventually Gray gave up, nodded, and stopped struggling, and Wendy sighed and continued. Natsu remained seated on Gray's chest, keeping the other boy still.

"Okay," Wendy said slowly. "It's time for the painful part."

"That _wasn't_ the painful part?!" Gray asked, horrified.

"Just stay _completely_ still," Wendy said, avoiding the question.

Gray squeezed his eyes shut. "Um," he said after a second, "you have no idea how much I _don't_ want to ask this, but could I... hold your hand?"

Natsu smirked. "Go right on ahead, Ice Princess. I won't judge."

Gray's hand fumbled for Natsu's, and he took a deep breath. "Okay, I'm ready."

As soon as Wendy's hands started to move, sweat broke out on Gray's forehead, and with all the pressure on his hand, Natsu thought _he_ might end up with a few broken bones.

"Done," Wendy said after a while, pulling away.

Gray took a second to relax, and he opened his eyes, still clutching Natsu's hand. Their eyes met, and for a second the world froze around them. Wendy broke the moment by saying, "Thank you for helping, Natsu."

"No problem," Natsu said, finally sliding off Gray's chest. Their hands slipped away from each other, and Natsu found himself missing the coolness of Gray's palm, while Gray missed the warmth of Natsu's. Natsu brushed a hand over his clothes, straightening them. "Well. How do you feel?"

Gray shifted to a sitting position, groaning. "Shitty."

Natsu smiled a little. "That's to be expected."

"Yes," Wendy agreed, packing up her tools. "And _you_ , Gray, I'm prescribing _you_ six weeks of bed-rest, you got that? No hunting, no moving, no _anything_."

"But-" Gray started to protest.

"No buts!" Wendy said, glaring at him. "If you don't obey, I'll have to re-break your ankle."

Gray held up his hands, his eyes wide. "Whoa, whoa, whoa. Whatever you say, Wen."

Wendy smiled, back to her sweet, innocent self. "Good. I'll be in the infirmary if you need anything."

When she was gone, Natsu raised his eyebrows. "Well, she was... interesting."

"That's one way to put it," Gray said irritably, struggling to right himself. "God, this hurts."

Natsu sighed. "Let me help you. Geez, you're stubborn." He helped Gray sit fully upright. "There."

"Thanks," Gray said, taking a deep breath. "I'm just... not used to staying still."

Natsu snorted. "Yeah, I can tell. But I suppose I can help you for a while."

Gray raised an eyebrow questioningly. "Oh?"

Natsu smirked and plopped down on the couch, resting an arm on the back, behind Gray's head. "Well, you're getting me a spot here, right? I figure that might take a while, so I'll just stay here until then."

Gray looked at him. A slow smile spread across his face. "Yeah, I guess you're right. You scratch my back, I'll scratch yours."

Natsu nodded, folding his hands behind his head. "Sounds about right."

"Hey, since you're staying here, would you mind helping me to the bed?"

"Sure," Natsu said, standing and reaching for Gray's arm. The boys shuffled over to the bed, and Natsu attempted to dump Gray down as gently as possibly. However, his foot slipped on a rug, and he fell on top of Gray. Their eyes met, and Natsu felt his heart stop, his breath catching in his throat. Gray's eyes were wide, and Natsu found himself admiring the deep blue color.

"Uh, sorry," Natsu breathed, pushing himself up and running a hand through his hair, trying to calm his racing heart.

"Um, it's okay," Gray said, glancing away, his cheeks slightly red.

Natsu turned away and walked past the couch to look out a nearby window, trying to calm himself down. The Zs were starting to creep back onto the streets with the coming night. Natsu brushed a hand through his hair, his mind flashing back to how close Gray's lips had been; pale pink and slightly parted.

What was going on in his head?


	3. The Boring Healing Process

**A/N:** Sorry if this chapter was a little shorter than the others. I just really liked the ending.

* * *

 **Chapter Three**

* * *

Natsu woke bright and early to see Gray doing chin-ups in his closet.

"What the hell, Gray?!" he exclaimed, getting up and rushing over to the closet. "You're ankle is _broken_. You shouldn't be up and moving around!"

"It's been _two days_ ," Gray complained as Natsu hooked one arm around him, towing him back towards the bed. "I'm practically one hundred percent better!"

Natsu raised his eyebrows. "Wendy assigned you _six weeks_ of bed-rest, and you think you're fully healed after _two days_? You really _are_ a stubborn bastard."

Gray shrugged as Natsu set him down on the bed. "What can I say; I'm not one for sitting still."

"As you've said," Natsu sighed, heading back to the couch where he had been sleeping. "But still; you need to take care of yourself."

"Geez," Gray said, resting his arms behind his head and raising an eyebrow. "We've known each other for three days and you're already worrying about me? I'm touched."

"Shut up," Natsu said, embarrassed. "I'm just being a decent human being."

Gray said nothing, simply smirking and closing his eyes. Natsu sighed and flipped onto his side, resting his head on his arm. It was early - maybe about six or seven in the morning - and Natsu was swimming in perpetual boredom. Of course, he didn't mind taking care of Gray. He kind of enjoyed it, actually. But still. For someone who killed Zs everyday, Natsu wasn't used to _not_ being on high alert twenty-four-seven. But, then again, Gray wasn't, either.

Natsu sighed and flipped onto his back, struggling to get comfortable. He tried to clear his mind in order to get back to sleep, but it always seemed to drift back to Gray for some reason. Natsu couldn't seem to get that boy out of his head. Perhaps he was just worried. Over the last three days they'd formed a somewhat solid friendship, which consisted of them yelling insults and threats at each other much of the day. But still, it was _sort of_ like being friends. They behaved enough like how Natsu used to with his friends in high school, albeit a bit more violent.

"Hey," Gray said after a while, "what was your life like, back before the whole 'zombie apocalypse' thing?"

Natsu sighed and stared up at the ceiling, his hands resting on his chest. "I was a mega-nerd."

"Wait, _seriously_?" Gray asked, sounding surprised.

Natsu chuckled. "Yeah. Straight A student, bookworm, total Netflix addict."

"Wow," Gray said appreciatively. "I never would've pegged you as a nerd."

"Oh?" Natsu said, propping himself up on one elbow to glance at Gray. "What _did_ you peg me as?"

"A total gym rat," Gray sighed. "Obviously I was _way_ off."

Natsu snickered. "Wow, I'm flattered, Ice Princess."

"Shut up. Surely _you_ had assumptions about _me_."

Natsu shrugged. "Well, I pegged you as an asshole, if that counts."

Gray opened one eye to glare at him, grabbing a pillow and tossing it at his head. Natsu caught it with ease and grinned, placing it behind his head. "So what _were_ you, Ice Princes, if not an asshole?"

"Hm," Gray said thoughtfully. "I guess I was... a jock. I played soccer. My grades were average. I dunno."

"Well, maybe the apocalypse was a step up for both of us."

Gray laughed. "Yeah. For all us psychos who have a knack for killing, the apocalypse was a life promotion."

Natsu snickered. "Got that right. Who knew playing Call Of Duty would prepare me for the zombie apocalypse?"

They sat in companionable silence for a while. It was nearing nine o'clock, but Natsu was exhausted. His sleep had been fitful, and bad dreams had taken up what little rest he'd gotten. They were all about his dad, of course. Igneel was the only family Natsu had, besides his uncle, Atlas. Natsu's dad had died within the first month of the apocalypse. His uncle he wasn't sure about, considering he lived three states away.

Natsu sighed and rolled onto his side, opening his eyes to glance over at Gray. His raven locks were slightly curled from tossing around in his sleep. His skin was pale, as usual, and his eyelashes were long and dark, a strong contrast to his skin. As always, he slept without a shirt. Whenever Gray wasn't outside of his room, he was shirtless. Noticing these things... Natsu wasn't used to it.

Sure, he'd had flings in high school, but nothing like what he was feeling now. But Natsu had never really been attracted to _boys_ before... He wasn't sure why he was now all of a sudden. Well, he never really _did_ feel like he was in love before. It was kind of like he was just going out with girls because that's what you were _supposed_ to do in high school. It had been a confusing time, and with the apocalypse, perhaps, came clarity.

Sighing and tugging a hand through his hair, Natsu sat up and stared at the ground for a while, collecting himself. When he felt orientated, he stood and reached for his clean, folded clothes resting on the armrest of the couch. He tugged off his shirt first, replacing it with the clean one, and then the black jeans.

When he was finished, Natsu stretched and went to the bathroom, drizzling a little water on a cloth to wipe his face. When he stepped out, Gray was sitting up in bed, pulling on a navy blue t-shirt. He gave Natsu a small wave and a smirk, settling back against his pillows and glancing out the window. "A lot of Zs out today," he said.

Natsu stood and walked over to the window, looking out past the electric fence. "Yeah," he agreed, narrowing his eyes at all the zombies roaming about, bumping up against the fence and shocking themselves. "I wonder why."

Gray shrugged. "Maybe some idiot was making a ton of noise nearby."

"Yeah," Natsu said offhandedly, heading over to the bed. "You ready to go down for breakfast?"

Gray nodded, and scooted his legs over the side. Natsu handed him his crutch and helped him stand, and they started towards the stairs.

* * *

"If you need anything, just call for me!" Lyon called after Gray and Natsu as they headed back towards Gray's room, his tone falsely cheerful.

Natsu raised his eyebrows once they were inside. "I don't think he likes me very much."

"What makes you say that?" Gray asked, plopping down on his bed with a sigh.

"Did you see how he looked at me?"

"That's just Lyon being Lyon. He's always distrustful of strangers at first. You just have to get to know him."

Natsu frowned and sat down heavily on the couch. "Sure. Right."

Gray propped his crutch up against the wall and lay back on the bed, resting his hands behind his head and closing his eyes. "Trust me. I know him better than anyone else."

"How?"

"He's my brother."

Natsu was silent for a while. "Oh. _Well_."

"I know. We don't look much alike," Gray said, laughing.

They rested in a comfortable silence for a while, until Natsu asked, "How many more days do you think you need to heal up?"

Gray thought about it for a moment. "Two."

Natsu nodded, satisfied. "Good, because I'm bored to death."

Gray rolled his eyes. "You can go on a job on your own, ya know."

"True," Natsu said thoughtfully. "But I just don't _feel_ like going alone. I know I usually go solo, but I figured it might be nice to have someone to watch my back, ya know?"

Gray shrugged. "Yeah. Good point." He sighed and settled back against his headboard. "Tell you what; you put up with two more days of boredom, and I'll grab us a job, and talk to gramps about getting you a spot here. What do you say?"

"Sounds good," Natsu said, grinning. He still couldn't believe that a chance encounter with another young zombie hunter could bring him all this fortune... And all these _feelings_. Was he really that lucky? Natsu tucked his legs up and rested his chin in his hand, staring out the window. He had a feeling that something big was about to happen, although what it was, he couldn't say.

Maybe he was just imagining it, that feeling of suspense hanging in the air. What big thing could really happen in the middle of the apocalypse, anyway?


	4. Natsu Is Captured

**A/N:** Here's the next chapter! Enjoy, minna! ^-^ (This one's mostly Gray's POV, sorry.)

* * *

 **Chapter Four**

* * *

"Let's go, let's go, let's go!" Natsu exclaimed, grinning and jogging in place as Gray locked his door.

"Shut up, will ya?" Gray asked, resting his hands behind his head and closing his eyes as he made his way towards the stairs, Natsu bouncing along behind him like a three-year-old who'd been given way too much sugar. "No way!" he hooted, practically sprinting down the stairs ahead of Gray. "I've been sittin' still for two whole days! It's time for some action!"

"Geez," Gray said, rolling his eyes, albeit with a small smile on his face. "You'd think someone'd be _glad_ to be away from danger, but not you, huh?"

Natsu shrugged, landing on one foot at the bottom of the stairs and straightening to look back at Gray.. "I dunno. I just don't like standing still, I guess. Anyway, hurry up! I need to make up for all those lost days and fill my quota!"

Gray raised an eyebrow as he led Natsu towards the job room. "What do you mean, your quota?"

Natsu stopped for a second before moving again, a blush dusting his cheeks. "Oh, well... Being on my own was boring, so I started a sort of... game."

"A game?" Gray asked, intrigued. "What do you mean?"

"Well..." Natsu twiddled his thumbs. "I have a little thing; kind of like a pitch count, I guess."

Gray nodded, encouraging him to continue. "It's kind of like I set a certain number, and I have to kill that many Zs by the end of the day."

"Huh." Gray scratched his forehead. "Well, how many do you usually go for?"

"Er..." Natsu frowned. "I think it was... forty-five?"

Gray nearly tripped. "FORTY-FIVE?!"

Natsu jumped at his shout. "Uh... yeah? What's the big deal?"

Shaking his head, Gray held open the door for Natsu. "You're crazy, you know that?"

Natsu didn't answer, as he had already run ahead and was busy gaping at the board full of posters. Gray walked over and stood beside him, glancing across the board for a job that looked good enough for them. Leaning forward and resting his finger on his chin, he squinted at one flyer in particular. Snatching it from the board, he held it up in front of Natsu. "Hey, look at this."

Natsu snatched the paper, annoyed, and quickly read it over. He grinned. "This is perfect! Let's take it!"

"But—" Gray tried, but Natsu was already walking away. "Don't you think it's a little weird?" he finished to himself, annoyed. He sighed and jogged to catch up with Natsu, who was already pushing open the door to go outside. The job was for a ten-Z kill, with a pack of weapons as the reward. Apparently there was a group of them stuck inside a huge old warehouse. But something about it seemed off. If whoever wanted those Zs gone had all those valuable weapons, and enough of them to give away, then why didn't they just take care of the Zs themselves? Ten wasn't that many.

But there was no dissuading Natsu now. They were already to the gate, and Gray flashed his ID card at the guard, who signaled for the pushers to open it up. They walked out, and as soon as the gates closed behind them, Gray unclipped his pistol from his belt and flipped off the safety. "You any good at shooting when you're not on a rooftop?" he asked Natsu, unstrapping the extra pistol on his leg and tossing it to him.

In response, Natsu flipped off the safety, closed his left eyes, aimed, and fired. His shot hit the dot of the i on a nearby dry cleaning shop's sign. Gray raised an appreciative eyebrow. "Not bad, Ten."

Natsu rolled his eyes and slipped the holster around his leg. "Not bad? That was a _great_ shot."

Gray shrugged, trying not to show how impressed he was. "Well, I admit it was fair. C'mon, the warehouse is about two clicks from here."

* * *

The warehouse was large and seemed deserted. It was quiet; almost _too_ quiet, but Natsu didn't seem to share any of Gray's anxiety as he opened the door, leading gun-first. Gray was right behind him, quickly closing the door again to keep Zs from creeping up on them from behind. They made their way down the hallway they were in, Natsu leading.

As they got closer to the main storage section, Gray was starting to get really anxious. The building looked rundown, sure, but it had a certain... neatness to it, like it was rundown on purpose. But maybe he was just being paranoid. But then he realized something; there were no noises.

 _If there are Zs they would be making noise... wouldn't they?_ Gray had stopped but Natsu was at the door now. "Hey, Natsu, wait a—"

Natsu slid his eyes over to Gray, but he was already pushing open the door. Gray's eyes flew past him and his mouth opened to yell a warning as a hand shot through and grabbed Natsu by the shirt. He let out a yell of surprise and brought his pistol up, hitting the guy on the side of the head. And it was just a regular guy; not a Z. _A trap?!_ Gray thought as he finally jerked forward, raising his gun. _I can't get a clear shot! I'll hit Natsu!_

Another set of hands took the place of the ones that Natsu had shoved off, and they started pulling him past the door. _There are two of them?!_ "Gray! Run!"

"Wha— I won't leave you!" he protested, but the two men were already directing their eyes to him, and with Natsu in front of them, Gray knew he couldn't get a clear shot. Plus, he could see now they had guns clipped to their belts. He grimaced and stood, conflicted. He couldn't leave Natsu. He couldn't.

"Gray! Go!" The men were reaching for their guns now.

Gray made an angry sound in the back of his throat and turned, booking it down the hallway. "I'll come back for you!" he yelled, looking back and meeting Natsu's eyes. Then he turned and started sprinting as bullets peppered the walls and floor around him.

* * *

"Natsu was kidnapped!"

Immediately people surrounded Gray, all asking questions at the same time. He tugged a hand through his hair, unable to focus on any of them. Natsu had been taken, and it was all his fault. He should've listened to his gut and forced Natsu to take another job! Why hadn't he?!

"Gray, Gray, calm down."

"Lyon?" Gray turned as Lyon took him by the shoulders and shook him once. "Lyon, where's gramps?!"

"Relax, I sent Angel to get him. You need to get a hold of yourself."

Gray took a deep breath, closing his eyes for several seconds before his pulse had leveled and he felt slightly calmer. He opened his eyes and met Lyon's stare, nodding his head once. "I'm fine now." Lyon clapped him on the shoulder. "Good. Now tell me what happened."

Gray nodded once and started speed-walking towards the mission room. "I gave the job poster to Mira. You need to see it."

As they were about to enter the room, Lucy ran up followed by Makarov. "Talk to me," he ordered, matching Gray's pace as they pushed through the door and stalked towards the counter at the back of the room where Mira stood serving drinks. She gave them the poster and Gray held it up for everyone to see.

Makarov took the poster and quickly looked it over, the frown on his face deepening. "This already seems fishy."

Gray nodded. "Yeah. But it gets weirder. When we got there, it looked ramshackle all right, but I could kind of see that it looked like it was made to be that way or something. And then, when we were about to go in to the main storage area, I realized that it was way too quiet. But, by then, Natsu had already opened the door, and they grabbed him. He told me to run, so I..." His voice cracked, and he cleared his throat. "So I ran. They did shoot after me, though."

Makarov was frowning even deeper now. "My question is; why would they go through all this trouble? Why are they trying to lure in hunters?"

"It doesn't matter why!" Gray snapped. "We have to go rescue him!"

"Whoa, calm down," Makarov ordered, holding up a hand. "We will, but we need to put together a team. I want at least four people on this. We need to investigate these people; find out why they're out prowling."

Gray tugged a hand through his hair. "Yes, but how soon can we—"

"Calm down." Makarov raised a hand, surveying Gray quietly. "We'll go at sunrise tomorrow. Lucy, Lyon, and Erza will go with you."

Gray nodded, sighing. "Yeah. Okay."

* * *

Laying in bed that night and looking up at the ceiling, all Gray could think about was Natsu; his face as they'd grabbed him, the hands on his shirt, pulling him forwards. He flipped over onto his side and stared out the window, up at the moon.

Other images flashed through his mind; the first time he'd seen Natsu; his unkempt pink hair and olive eyes; his big toothy smile; his light laugh. Turning so he was once again on his back, Gray clenched his jaw. "Don't worry Natsu." he whispered. "I'm coming for you."

* * *

Natsu woke in a cold sweat, his heart racing. His eyes were covered, so he turned to his other senses. He could hear a faint buzzing; probably a generator. He sniffed the air tentatively. It smelled musty; like old cardboard. Suddenly he heard a door open, and his body turned stiff as he jerked at the sound. "So, you're awake."

The voice was distinctly male; Natsu guessed the speaker was maybe nineteen or twenty.

"I'm glad," he continued. "We need to have a nice long... chat."

"No way I'm telling you anything," Natsu spat.

"I figured you might feel that way, so..." Suddenly Natsu's blindfold was ripped off, and he blinked in the harsh light that was shining in his face. He tried to adjust his eyes, but with the light in his face, he couldn't make out what the man looked like. He bared his teeth at the shadow that paced around in the light, towards his left side. He tried to move his head, but it was fixed to the back of the chair; it was an old dentist's chair, Natsu thought.

"I brought some things to help... _persuade_ you to tell me what I want to know."

Natsu stared straight ahead, his jaw set. "Now, what are all the entrances into the Outpost?"

"I. Don't. Know," Natsu said through gritted teeth, glaring ahead.

"Ah, so we're going to play that game, are we? Well, I have no problem with that."

"What do you me—" his words turned into a cry of pain as he felt something sharp pierce his right shoulder. "What— are— you— doing?" he managed to grit out, trying not to scream.

"Never been tortured before, pinky? Figures. Well, why don't I get you acquainted with this particular... _art form_."


	5. Hopefully This Rescue Doesn't Kill Us

**A/N:** Here's chapter five of Apocalypse Tale. Enjoy, guys! And don't forget to show your love by following, favoriting, and reviewing!

* * *

 **Chapter Five**

* * *

Natsu lay back in the chair, gasping for air. He'd been stuck in this room, blind, for about twelve hours. He'd been tortured the whole time, with only small breaks in between when the man in charge of said torture was drawn away. Now was one of those moments, and Natsu was relishing the small break from the pain.

His throat was horse from screaming and his muscles were exhausted and sore from being tensed for so long. But no matter how much Natsu tried to tell the man that he didn't know anything about the Outpost, and that he'd only just arrived there, he wouldn't believe him.

 _Gray!_ Natsu thought desperately, closing his eyes and breathing heavily as he let his head fall back against the head-rest. _Where are you?!_

* * *

Gray woke bright and early and gathered every weapon he had in his apartment. He strapped them to every available extremity and exited his apartment, heading for the front of the building, where he was supposed to meet Lyon, Erza, and Lucy—or the Cold Emperor, Titania, and Angel, as their code-names suggested.

They were waiting for him at the door, each wearing a small arsenal similar to Gray's. Makarov, who had been waiting for everyone to arrive, handed them each a walkie-talkie. "I want regular updates," he ordered, walking with them towards the gate. "Lucy, Erza." He tossed the two girls cameras. "I want pictures of every inch of the place. I have a backup team waiting if something goes wrong."

Everyone nodded and started towards the gate. "Oh, and Gray?" Gray stopped and looked back as the rest of the team continued walking. Makarov gave him a grim smile. "Bring him back, son."

Gray nodded and spun on his heel. The team of four exited the gate, and Gray took the lead, directing them towards the warehouse. On the way he spotted the i Natsu had shot during their first trip, and he swallowed hard, moving past quickly. "We're almost there," he told the others, fingers white against his gun. "It's just up ahead."

They stopped at the door Natsu and Gray had gone through, and Gray took one side while Erza took the other. Gray held up three fingers, signaling three seconds. One finger down; Erza hefted her gun. Two fingers down; Lyon an Lucy lined up beside them. Three fingers down; Gray quietly opened the door and they moved slowly down the hallway, guns raised. Gray took a deep breath and sighed inwardly. _Hopefully this rescue doesn't kill us._

Suddenly a sound tore through the air, and Gray stopped still, holding up a hand to stop the others. "Do you guys hear that?" Brows furrowed, Lucy turned her head to the side, brushing the hair back from her ear. "Yeah... What is that?"

The sound was highly muffled; just barely audible, but as it continued, Gray's stomach dropped, and he swallowed hard. "It sounds like a... scream." Erza said, voicing Gray's suspicion. "Let's move!" he shouted, and started sprinting down the hallway. "Erza, you've got the best ears; lead us to them!"

"Right!" Erza took the lead, and they took several left turns, then several right, until they came upon a single door. Pausing on either side of it, Gray peered through the small glass square. He cursed under his breath and moved back, allowing the others to peer through. "Dammit," Lucy swore, biting her lip. "It's a clear open space. We'd be easy targets."

"Take another look," Lyon said. "There're stacks of boxes. And it looks empty, anyway."

Gray nodded. "We'll go in teams of two. Lyon, you're with me. Erza, Lucy; wait for about twelve seconds before following us." The girls nodded, and Gray signaled for Lyon to open the door. As soon as it closed behind them, they ducked behind the first set of boxes, glancing around to gauge their surroundings. There were open doorways on either side of the room, and a closed door straight ahead. That's where the sound was coming from.

Pointing at the door, Gray shared a look with Lyon and they stood, taking slow, even steps towards the closed door. When they reached it, Lyon was the first to look. "It's another hallway," he declared, making Gray swear. "How many damn hallways are in this place?!"

"Doesn't matter. The sound's clear enough for us to track it now."

Gray sighed. "Yeah, you're right. Let's go." By now Lucy and Erza were creeping through the doorway, eyes trained on the open doorways. Gray opened the door and was about to duck inside when voices echoed through the room. Gray threw Lyon through the door in front of him, signaled for Lucy and Erza to duck behind the boxes, and went inside himself, closing the door quietly.

"There's no time to waste," Gray hissed. "We've got to keep going!"

"But Lucy and—"

"They'll be fine," Gray assured, pushing Lyon forward. " _Go_!"

They started running, Lyon leading them towards the origin of the sound. At the end of the hallway there was another closed door, with two others on either side of it. The screams were coming from the middle room, and Gray clipped his gun to his belt, reaching a hand tentatively towards the door. Suddenly, the scream stopped, and Gray's hand hovered over the doorknob. He shushed Lyon, who was about to ask him something, and pressed his ear to the door.

"You're a stubborn one, hm?" The voice was male; Gray guessed the guy was maybe twenty or so. He bit his lip and listened closer. "I wonder how long you can last. I'm curious to see which one will arrive first; the end of your _uncrushable_ determination, or your little hunter friend. I'm sure he'll be back for you soon."

Gray paled, and he quickly backed away from the door, meeting Lyon's eyes. "It's Na—" he was interrupted by a sound at the end of the hallway, and he quickly turned and opened the door to the left of the center, checking that it was empty before shoving Lyon inside and closing it. He pressed his ear to the door and listened to the approaching footsteps, ignoring the frantic beating of his heart. They were in a closet, and Lyon, who was pressed against the back wall, was still very close to Gray, his knees digging into his back.

There was a knock at the door in the middle, and Gray heard it open and the voice from before snap, "What?"

"Sorry, sir, I just have another shipment of weapons that they need you to sign off on."

There was an irritated sigh before the door closed and two sets of feet starting walking back down the hallway. "This better not take long," was the last thing Gray heard before they were too far away. He waited for several seconds before the door at the end of the hallway closed. Gray opened the door and slipped out again, turning to face the door he was afraid to open.

Resting his hand on the knob, he twisted, and the door opened.

* * *

Natsu flinched as the door opened, his breathing ragged. "Back already?" he spat, trying to even out his breathing. A spark of pain flashed through his body as he tried to move, and he closed his eyes and gritted his teeth. "You should just kill me," he said, not bothering to open his eyes. "I already told you I don't know anything."

"Natsu," a voice whispered. "Natsu, it's me."

Natsu opened his eyes, squinting past the light to make out two shadows at the door. "Who's me?" he asked, his voice hoarse.

" You stupid son of a— It's Gray!"

"Gray?" Natsu was immediately wide awake. "Gray! Flip this damn light off!"

The shadow moved to the left, and the light was flipped off. Natsu sighed in relief, blinking to get used to the sudden darkness. "Get me out of here, would ya?" he asked, letting his head fall back against the seat. Gray, who he could actually see now, moved to his left arm. His face paled. "Holy shit, man. What the hell did they do to you?"

Natsu gave a weak laugh at how horrified he sounded. "Torture. I look great, don't I?"

Gray gritted his teeth as he started untying him. "I'll kill them," he said darkly, his eyes glowing with anger. "They'll pay for this."

"Wow," Natsu said, laughing weakly. "We've known each other for only four days, and you're worried about me? I'm touched."

Gray rolled his eyes, finishing cutting off the ropes securing Natsu's left arm. "Well, at least you're well enough to quote me."

Natsu gave a tired grin. "Just hurry up and untie me, Ice Princess."

* * *

Gray and Lyon finally finished untying Natsu, who had been cracking jokes the whole time. Gray looked him over, wincing. "Damn, are you sure you want to be moved? I can hardly tell what they did 'cause you're covered in blood."

"I'm... fine," Natsu said, closing his eyes. He took a deep breath and opened them again, blinking up at Gray. "Thanks... for... for..." His eyes had narrowed to slits, and Gray grasped his shoulder. "Natsu? Natsu, hey, you okay?"

"Your... eyes..." Natsu giggled. "They're pretty."

Gray felt a blush coat his cheeks, but he shook it off, looking down at his boots. His face paled as he saw all the blood pooling on the floor. "Dammit! He's losing a lot of blood. He's delirious. We've got to move him _now_!"

"Okay," Lyon agreed. "I'll take his left, you take his right?"

Gray nodded, and they started helping Natsu up. Gray expected him to groan or something, but he was out cold. "We've gotta move. Where're—"

Suddenly, they saw the door opening. Gray's hand flew to his belt, and he aimed his gun at the door. "Whoa," Lucy said, peering in at them. "Relax, Ice. It's just us."

"Good. Let's go."

* * *

 **A/N:** Sorry to leave off on another cliff-hanger, but next chapter will be out soon ;)


	6. Only Gray Would Get Hurt During A Rescue

**A/N:** Here's a slightly longer chapter. (Let me know if you guys want me to keep making them longer.) Enjoy, minna ^-^

* * *

 **Chapter Six**

* * *

They crept through the hallway and back towards the main room, which was the only way to get back outside. Lucy and Erza were leading, considering Lyon and Gray were busy holding up Natsu. When they came to the door leading into the large open room, Lucy peered through the little square of glass and gave a thumbs up. "All clear. Let's move."

They pushed through the door and made their way to the other side safely, breathing sighs of relief when they were safely through the door. Next was the series of turns that would take them back to the door they'd entered through, and Lucy—the one with the best memory—took the lead.

Finally, they rounded a corner and saw the door at the end of the long hallway. Relieved smiles were shared through the group as they started the final stretch towards safety. However, luck was not on their side. When they were halfway to the door, a shout rang out behind them, and Gray could hear guns being pulled out. "Run!" he yelled, and everyone started sprinting towards the door.

Bullets peppered the area around them, and Gray and Lyon were lagging a few steps behind Lucy and Erza, considering they had Natsu's extra weight between them. But it looked like they would make it; the door was only a few feet away now, and Lucy was reaching for the handle to shove it open. "Almost there! Almost— Ugh!" A bullet hit the back of Gray's left leg and he stumbled. Lyon shot a quick look over at him but Gray waved him on, shouting, "I'm fine! Go, go, go!"

Lucy threw open the door and they were racing out into the sunlight. Lyon slammed the door behind them and Erza hurried to slide a board over the handle. It shook as the people on the other side tried to open it, but the group wasted no time sticking around to see if it would hold. They took off running in the direction of the Outpost, Erza and Lucy shooting any Zs that came their way.

Gray's leg felt like it was on fire now, but he said nothing; he had to get his friends to safety before he could worry about himself.

* * *

After running for what felt like hours but must've only been five minutes, they stopped to catch their breath, hiding out in the abandoned shell of a laundromat. Lucy's back hit the wall and she took deep breaths, sliding down to a crouch against the wall. Erza joined her, unstrapping a water bottle from her pack and handing it to the blonde, who took it gratefully.

Lyon and Gray set Natsu down carefully on top of two old dryers, using them as a makeshift bed. Gray, in a moment of kindness, grabbed an extra T-shirt from his pack and balled it up, carefully placing it under Natsu's head as a lame attempt at a pillow. He sighed and fell back against the wall, crossing his arms and glancing out the window to make sure they weren't being pursued. He wanted to sit, but he figured if he did, he wouldn't be able to get up again.

"We can't stay here long," Erza said, mustering a groan from the group.

Lucy sighed and stood, unstrapping her pack and walking over to Natsu's prone form. "We should try and bandage him up a little before we keep walking. I have a T-shirt we can use as a towel to get some of this blood off."

Gray nodded, unslouching from his place against the wall and walking over to stand next to her. "Good idea. Lyon, help me out, would ya?"

Lyon grunted an affirmation and walked over to stand beside Gray, who was attempting to get Natsu's blood-stained shirt off. "Fuck. I think we might have to cut it off," Lyon commented, seeing his brother struggling with the shirt, which was stuck to Natsu, almost like a second skin.

Sighing in defeat, Gray slid his knife out of its sheath on his leg and started cutting a line down the middle of the shirt until it was completely open in the center, almost like a jacket. "Hold him up, will you?" he asked Lyon, who obliged. "Damn," he huffed, grunting as he tried to lift Natsu's upper half so Gray could get the shirt off. "He's fuckin' _heavy_."

"Don't complain."

Finally, Gray managed to get the shirt off, tossing it on the floor in disgust. "Okay, got that shirt, Lucy?" She nodded and pulled out a black shirt from her pack, folding it into a rough square before handing it to Gray. "Here," she said, passing over her water-bottle as well. "Douse it with this first."

The wet T-shirt did well to mop up the blood, but what was hidden underneath was less than pretty. Cuts covered his skin like patchwork, most of them shallow and short, but some long and deep. Gray growled in anger as he noticed that some patches of skin were missing; _torn off_. Lucy held a hand to her mouth, letting out a muffled sob. Erza was quick to hug the blonde, attempting to offer comfort as she led her away, towards the corner of the room where she could calm down.

Lyon wrinkled his nose but was otherwise fine as he helped Gray clean and dress the cuts on his front. When they were finished, Lyon eyed Natsu with a determined look in his eyes. "Okay, we've gotta flip 'im." Gray cracked his knuckles and nodded. "You take his left, I'll take his right."

After several moments of cursing and heavy breathing, they got him onto his back, and Gray gasped when he saw it. It was clear of smaller cuts; in fact, there was only one. It was a long diagonal slash from his shoulder all the way to his hip. It was deep and a dark, angry red, still trickling blood down his back.

"Well _shit_ ," Lyon deadpanned.

Nodding grimly, Gray tried to hold back his anger as he cleaned the cut, then bandaged it. _Damn them to hell. I'll kill each and every one._ He wanted to do a better job, at least clean it with Hydrogen Peroxide and put on some Neosporin, but he knew they had already stayed there too long, and they were sitting ducks so close to the warehouse.

Taking the shirt from under Natsu's head, he shook it out and had Lyon hold Natsu up again as he carefully slid it over his head and across his torso, careful not to brush against his bandaged cuts. "Let's go," he said once he was finished, wiping his hands off on his jeans and tossing Lucy's shirt into the corner with Natsu's soiled one. "I don't want to stay here any longer then we have to."

* * *

A crowd was waiting behind the gates when they arrived, and as soon as everyone saw the team running up, they were thrown open and people rushed forwards to help. Stronger arms gripped Natsu, and Gray really didn't want to let the sakura-haired boy out of his sight, but he knew his arms couldn't hold out for much longer, anyway, so he let them take him, vowing to visit the infirmary first thing after everything settled down. First, of course, they had to give their report to Makarov.

So the four followed him to his office, and as soon as the door closed, he was upon them. Lucy and Erza gave him the cameras full of pictures they'd taken, and he slowly clicked through them. "These are good shots, girls."

Lucy grinned. "Yeah. We even managed to get some shots of the people when we were hiding behind the boxes." Gray turned surprised eyes towards her and asked, "Really? Did you get a shot of the two guys walking out from the hallway we were in?"

Lucy frowned. "Um, I think so, but I'm not..." She trailed off seeing as Gray was already snatching the camera from Makarov, flipping through the pictures until he landed on one of two men. Only their chests and faces were visible, considering Lucy had been crouched behind boxes when the photo was taken, but it didn't matter; a face was all Gray needed.

He focused on the first man, the one on the right, but wrote him off, considering he looked about thirty. The next one sent a chill down Gray's spine. He fit the age, alright; he couldn't have been more than nineteen or twenty. He had long, dark ebony hair, but his eyes were what scared Gray the most. They were a deep, violent crimson, and the irises lacked any life. They seemed dead; emotionless. If Gray didn't know better, he'd say they belonged to a Z.

Gray narrowed his eyes. _That's the one. That's the one that hurt Natsu. That's the one I'm going to kill._ Tucking the camera into his bag, Gray stared straight at Makarov, daring him to object. He stood and walked towards the door, hands in his pockets. "Don't worry," he said over his shoulder with a smile, "I'll get this back to you. I just need it for a while."

* * *

As soon as Gray had deposited all his gear in his room, he turned to the matter of his leg. The thing was, Sky didn't know he'd left on the mission yet, considering she only heard things when news was brought in with the infirmary patients. And seeing as how Natsu had just been deposited there, Gray was sure she was ready to kill him, or at least follow through on the promise to re-break his foot. She hated when he disobeyed her orders, and she'd be extra pissed if she found out he got shot, too.

Gray sighed. _Okay. I'll wrap up the gunshot wound myself, and then go see Natsu. Wendy'll never even know._

He nodded once to himself and carefully slid off his jeans to check out the damage, wincing as the rough fabric slid over the bullet wound on his calf. He groaned as he noticed that there was no exit wound, which meant the bullet was still in his leg. He knew what he had to do. It would hurt like a bitch, but it was the only thing he could do.

Sighing and taking out his knife, he gritted his teeth in anticipation of the pain. Then he carefully dug the tip into the hole, biting down hard on his lip and tasting blood. Finally, he felt metal hit metal, and carefully dug the bullet out with the tip of the knife. It came free with a jerk and skittered across the floor, spinning in a circle and trailing blood across the wood.

"Son of a bitch," he swore, dropping the knife on the floor and letting out the breath he'd been holding. He took a deep breath and assessed the hole. It wasn't as clean as it had been, and the bullet dislodging had caused it to start bleeding again. Gray cursed and limped to the bathroom, sitting on the edge of the tub and pressing a cloth against it. He still had to clean it, though, so he grabbed his water bottle and a bottle of Hydrogen Peroxide. "Okay," he said to himself, "this is going to hurt a lot, but you can handle it."

He gripped the bottle of Hydrogen Peroxide and gulped, squeezing his eyes shut as he poured a little over the wound. "SHIT, SHIT, I CAN'T HANDLE IT, NOPE, NOPE, NOPE." He stopped pouring and opened his eyes to see the wound fizzing white and gritted his teeth, flipping the cap on. "Good enough. Totally good enough. Yep."

After he had bandaged it up—no Neosporin, unfortunately; it was rare and Wendy had all of it—Gray felt slightly better and slipped on a pair of cargo pants, changed his shirt, and slipped on his shoes, ready to go visit Natsu.


	7. Lyon Tries Playing Cupid

**A/N:** Here's the next chapter. Remember to show your love by following, favoriting, and reviewing! I would love to hear your guy's opinions! (I love cupid Lyon XD)

* * *

 **Chapter Seven**

* * *

Gray cringed and braced himself for the lecture to come as he entered the infirmary. Wendy was bent over Natsu, wiping his forehead with a damp cloth. She turned at the sound of his footsteps, and he cringed and said, "Ah, hey, Wen..."

The small blue-haired girl quickly dropped the cloth and ran over to him, squeezing him in a bone-crushing hug. "Gray! I'm so glad you're okay!" Surprised, Gray returned the hug, asking, "So... you're not going to kill me?"

She shoved him away, her eyes furious. "OF _COURSE_ I AM! GRAY FULLBUSTER, HOW _DARE_ YOU DISOBEY A DIRECT ORDER FROM YOUR _DOCTOR_! STUPID!" She hit him hard on the shoulder, glaring at him. Gray smiled nervously. "Promise I won't do it again."

Wendy sighed, visibly deflating. "Yeah, you say that every time." She turned and walked back to Natsu's side, picking up the discarded cloth and dropping it on the side-table before taking a seat at her desk. Gray cautiously walked over to sit in the chair at Natsu's bedside, his eyes sweeping over the boy's prone form. His chest rose and fell evenly, but his brow was spotted with sweat, and his cheeks were red. Gray gulped; took a deep breath. "Is he..."

"He'll be alright," Wendy assured, waving her hand dismissively. "He just needs to break his fever and he'll be fine. He will have a few scars, though..."

Gray's hands, which were hanging limply at his sides, curled into fists. Scars... He exhaled, letting his fists unclench. He needed to focus on Natsu right now; not his anger. He had plenty of time for that later. Natsu shuddered in his sleep, and Gray reached out a tentative hand and rested it against his forehead. "He's burning up," he told Wendy with a frown. The girl sighed. "I know. If I had an IV I'd give him some meds for the pain, but I don't, so until he wakes, I can't give him anything."

"Can't you give him a shot or something?" Gray asked, letting his hand fall back to his side. Wendy sighed again. "I would, but I'm all out. If someone would go on a med run for me, then it would be a different story."

"I'll go," Gray said immediately, and Wendy immediately shook her head. "Nope. No way am I letting you go out again. You're still recovering."

"C'mon, Wen!" he exclaimed, jumping to his feet. "You need the meds, and I'll die of boredom just sitting around. And I want to help Natsu any way I can. I got him into this mess, after all..."

Wendy's eyes turned sad, and she rested a hand on his shoulder. "Gray, you know this wasn't your fault." Gray said nothing, his eyes trained on the floor. Wendy sighed in defeat. "If you really want to go, then..."

Gray's eyes brightened, and he scooped the girl up and spun her in a circle. "Yes! You're the best, Wen!"

She laughed and shoved him away. "Whatever. Go before I kick you out. Come back when you're ready and I'll give you a list."

Gray nodded and sprinted out of the room, headed towards his room to gather his equipment. Lyon met him halfway on the stairs, and when he learned of what Gray was planning, he immediately insisted on coming along. Gray was hesitant, considering he'd already gotten one person hurt, and didn't really want another one injured, but Lyon was too stubborn, and eventually Gray gave in.

They split at Gray's door, and Lyon scurried off to grab his own stuff while Gray ducked inside his apartment and started gathering his guns and pack. Through all the excitement he had forgotten about his leg, and Gray gritted his teeth as spikes of pain prickled under his skin. He shook them off and finished strapping his last gun across his back, slinging his pack over his shoulder and making his way towards the door. Lyon met him at the stairs, and they walked towards the infirmary together.

* * *

"I can hardly pronounce half the things on this list," Lyon said, squinting down at the paper in his hand as they walked down the street, towards the hospital they typically looted. Gray rolled his eyes and snatched the list, tucking it in his pack. "Focus on your surroundings, would you? Natsu needs this medicine, and I'd rather not be eaten alive by zombies today."

"Yeah, yeah," Lyon muttered, hoisting his gun. After several moments of silence, he asked, "You really like him, huh?" Gray frowned, his finger hovering over the trigger of his gun. "What? Who?"

"Natsu," Lyon said, cutting his eyes over to Gray to gauge his reaction. Gray stiffened, feeling his heart skip a beat and his face redden as an image of sakura-hair and a toothy grin flashed through his mind. "What? _That_ hot-headed idiot? No way!" Why was Lyon asking weird things all of a sudden, anyway?

Lyon smirked, turning away. "Sure. Of course."

Gray narrowed his eyes and huffed in irritation. "If you've got somethin' to say, say it."

His brother's smirk widened. "I didn't say anything."

Annoyed, Gray raised his gun and shrugged his shoulders to loosen the tension. Why was he talking about Natsu all of a sudden? "We'll continue this later. The hospital's right up there."

* * *

When they were safely inside the hospital, Gray pulled out Wendy's list and they started searching for the meds on the list. It didn't take long to find almost all of them, save for a few basic things that had been looted quickly, like Tylenol and Advil. Their packs were now heavy with meds, needles, and other odds and ends, and they started back towards the Outpost.

Gray huffed, wiping sweat off his brow. Lyon rolled his eyes. "Tired already?" Gray shot him a dark look. Couldn't he leave him alone for a damn minute? "I'm the one who has to carry all the IV bags, so unless you'd like to switch packs, shut it."

"Fine," Lyon said, holding up his hands in surrender. "And just so you know, this whole Natsu business isn't over."

Gray stumbled, nearly tripping and face-planting on the road. "Wh-why're you bringing that up again?!"

"No reason."

 _No reason my ass_ , Gray thought, righting himself and glaring at Lyon's back as they continued walking. _What is he trying to do, anyway?_

* * *

When the reached the Outpost, their first stop was the infirmary. Wendy was like a child on Christmas Day when they opened their bags and spread out all the medicine across an empty bed, and her gleeful smile made Gray's mood lighten up a little.

"Thank you both so much!" she exclaimed, her eyes still sparkling looking at all the goods spread across the sheets.

Lyon ruffled her hair. "No problem, kiddo. Use them wisely."

"I will!"

With that Lyon was off, but Gray decided to stay and help Wendy put away all the meds. When everything was in its place, Wendy pulled out an IV bag and cleaned the needle at the end of the tube. "Drag that stand over, will you?" she asked, pointing at a tall metal rack in the corner. Gray nodded and wheeled it over, and Wendy slung the bag on it. She pulled one of Natsu's arms free of the blanket and poked around for a vein. When she'd found one, she cleaned the skin over it and gently inserted the needle, flicking the bag a few times to get it going.

"All done," she said, sitting back with a smile. "He should be better within a few days, thanks to you."

Gray smiled, seeing the relief already written across Natsu's face. "I'm just glad I could help."

"Yeah..." Wendy stretched her arms above her head and blinked, rubbing her eyes. "Tired?" Gray asked, raising an eyebrow. She nodded. "But I"—she paused to yawn—"I can't leave him here alone."

Gray smiled, pushing Wendy towards the door. "Go sleep. I'll watch him."

"But," she protested weakly, "what if more patients come in?"

"Wen," Gray said, giving her another push. " _Go_."

She sighed. "Okay, okay. But if anything happens, just come get me!" And she was off. Gray sighed and sat down in the chair beside Natsu's bed, rubbing the sleep from his eyes and yawning. Now that he was relaxed, his leg had started hurting again, and he sighed and rubbed a hand through his hair. He turned his eyes to Natsu, and he studied his face quietly. The sweat on his brow had lessened, and he appeared much calmer now.

Luckily his face was the one thing they'd left alone. His tan skin was smooth across his sharp cheekbones, and sweeps of his sakura hair had fallen in front of his closed eyes. Gray reached out and brushed it back without thinking. He startled at how soft it was, and he swept his fingers through it again, just to make sure he hadn't imagined the feeling.

Natsu sighed in his sleep; a soft exhale that made Gray jump and quickly yank his hand away. He watched him cautiously, noticing the faint fluttering of his eyelashes as he turned his head to the side, sighing again in his sleep. "I wonder what he's dreaming about," Gray whispered to himself, settling back in his chair and resting his chin on his palm. His mind flashed back to what Lyon had said earlier. _You really like him, huh?_

Gray shook his head and closed his eyes, leaning his head forward. _Why am I thinking about that all of a sudden? I mean, it's not true... is it?_ He let his head fall forward onto the bed, and he rested his head on his arms and sighed. _I don't like... I don't... like... Natsu... I like... Natsu...? I like Natsu...?_ He fell asleep with those words in his ears, but he still couldn't decide if they were true or not.


	8. Natsu Is A Son Of A Bitch

**A/N:** Oh my God, this story. I can't stop writing for it. Anyway, here's chapter eight, so enjoy, guys! (Sorry if this chapter was pretty boring, but I wanted to set everything up nicely for Natsu's recovery. Also, I'll try to make the next chapter longer.)

* * *

 **Chapter Eight**

* * *

Natsu woke feeling like he'd been run over by a car. He tried to move and let out a groan as a dull ache spread through his limbs. His brain felt fuzzy, and his skin was clammy and hot under the blanket that covered him. He tore open his eyes and blinked to get used to the light streaming through the windows.

At first he didn't recognize the room he was in. He'd only been there once, after all. And when he did recognize it, he couldn't decide how he'd gotten there, or why his body ached so much. Had something happened to him? Natsu held a hand to his head and slowly sat up, feeling slightly dizzy as he looked around at the empty room.

"C'mon, Gray, I've eaten now I have to get back to work." Natsu perked his ears up at the sound of Wendy's voice.

"But Wen, Natsu'll be fine by himself for a little longer." That voice; Gray. Natsu frowned, holding his head between his hands and squeezing his eyes closed. _Why can't I remember anything after we left on that mission..._

When Wendy walked in, she almost dropped the basket she was carrying. "Oh, my God! Natsu!"

Gray shoved past her, and when their eyes met, Natsu felt his heart skip a beat. He shook it off to give Gray a smirk and a feeble wave. "Hey."

Gray was at his side in an instant, smacking him on the back of the head. "Next time, you run too, got that, stupid?"

Natsu frowned. "What? Run?"

Giving him a strange look, Gray sat down in the chair beside his bed. "You don't remember?"

Confused now, Natsu shook his head. "No. Remember what? And how did I end up here, anyway? What happened?"

Wendy held up her hands, setting her basket on the empty bed beside Natsu's. "Calm down. Your brain must be suppressing the memories. You'll remember eventually, but just relax for now. Here, why don't you eat something?" She rummaged around in the basket to produce an apple and a small bottle of water, which she handed to Natsu. He immediately bit into the apple, relishing the crisp sweetness of it, which he hadn't tasted in a long time. He mumbled a thanks as he quickly made work of the fruit, tossing the core in the nearby garbage before he tore open the water and gulped it down.

"Um, you should probably slow down," Wendy warned. "You've been out for several days, and your stomach isn't used to—" Natsu's stomach wrenched suddenly, and he turned and threw up all over the floor. "—food," Wendy finished lamely, sighing. Gray, who had yanked his legs up to avoid his shoes being barfed on, wrinkled his nose. "Eww, Natsu, gross."

"Shut up," Natsu said, holding a hand over his mouth. He rested his other on his stomach and groaned in misery. "I haven't felt like this since the last time I was on a boat..."

Gray clapped him on the shoulder, making him groan again. "It's alright, buddy. You know what'd make you feel better?"

"What?" Natsu asked, willing to try anything to get rid of the churning snakes in his stomach.

"A nice hearty meal."

"I hate you."

* * *

Gray sighed down at Natsu, shaking his head. As soon as Wendy had started cleaning up his puke, he'd conked out, snoring loudly. Gray had covered him with a blanket and helped Wendy wipe the floors clean after she was finished cleaning up the throw up, and he'd sprayed some Febreze around to mask the stench.

Wendy raised an eyebrow incredulously. Gray raised a counter eyebrow. "What? We might as well use it now. It's practically useless."

"Nothing. I guess my infirmary will just smell like"—she glanced at the bottle—"fresh twist cranberry for the rest of the day."

"You're welcome," Gray said with a grin, tossing her the can before heading towards the door. "I'll be back in a while. I need to clean my guns."

Wendy shook her head with an amused smile on her face. "I don't think I'll ever get used to people saying that like it's normal."

* * *

Gray set his last gun on the bed and wiped his hands on the cloth he had been using to oil them before tossing it on the bed and going to wash his hands in the bathroom. He wiped his face with a damp cloth and made his way over to the window, peering through the glass and down to the streets, past the gate.

It was four days after they'd rescued Natsu, and Gray's leg had started to feel slightly better, although he'd noticed his breathing was a bit faster than normal, but he figured that was just the excitement of seeing Natsu awake. He still couldn't believe that he'd recovered so quickly. Wendy had said a few days, but it was still surprising after everything he'd been through.

Gray stretched his arms above his head and walked back over to his bed. He reset the clips in all his guns and put them away before making his ways back downstairs, towards the infirmary. When he got there, Natsu was awake again, reading. Gray did a double-take, seeing as how not once in the four days Natsu was staying with him had he ever picked up a book.

"Oh, hey," Natsu said once he spotted him lurking at the doorway. He let his book fall to his lap and gave Gray a small smile that made his heart thump painfully in his chest. He returned the smile and walked over to sit in the chair beside Natsu's bed, resting his cheek in the palm of his hand. "I see you're feeling better, then?"

Natsu nodded. "Yep. Although I still feel like I got thrown under a bus."

Gray grimaced. "Yeah..." He didn't know what else to say without becoming angry; at himself or at Natsu's kidnappers, it didn't really matter which. But now that he was in front of Natsu, staring into those wide olive eyes, the words from before flooded his brain. _I like Natsu._ His face reddened. _No, no, no, stop thinking about that, stop thinking about that._

"Hey," Natsu asked, brows furrowed. "You okay? Your face is all red."

Of course, that only made his face redder. "I'm— I'm fine. Totally fine." Natsu gave him a weird look but only shrugged and picked up his book to start reading again.

After a minute Gray had composed himself, and asked, "Hey, what're you reading?"

Natsu bookmarked his page with a finger to check the title on the spine. " _Pride and Prejudice_."

Gray raised an eyebrow, surprised. "Really? _You're_ reading _Pride and Prejudice_?"

"Yes," Natsu said, clearly annoyed. "Now be quiet, Ice Princess."

Gray bristled at the nickname and sat back in his chair, crossing his arms. "Fine." There were a few more seconds of tense silence before Gray grew bored again. "So..."

"Gray," Natsu said, closing his book and giving him a look, "if you wanted my attention that badly, you could've just asked."

"I— You— What—" Gray spluttered, blushing wildly. Natsu chuckled in amusement as he stood and stormed towards the door. "Bye!" he called cheerfully, making Gray's brow twitch in irritation as he stormed down the hallway and up the stairs. "Stupid son of a— Who does he think he is?!"

Gray slammed his door and sat down hard on his couch, frowning angrily at the floor. His breathing was erratic again and he flopped down on his back and stared up at the ceiling, attempting to slow his racing heart. What is that idiot doing to me?

* * *

As soon as Gray left, Natsu tried to go back to reading, but all he could think about was raven hair and navy blue eyes. He sighed and bookmarked his page before setting the book on the vacated chair. He lay back on the pillows and looked up at the ceiling. Why was Gray all he could think about? He felt like he was a twelve-year-old girl pining after her crush, but he knew that Gray probably didn't share any of the feelings he was currently having.

 _Maybe I should just confess and get it over with_ , he pondered, rolling onto his side to look out the window. _I guess it's better than not knowing. And who knows, maybe he feels the same way._ After a second Natsu snorted and flipped onto his back. _Who am I kidding? He's a total ice block. If I don't confess, and he_ does _feel the same way as me, he'll never make the first move._

Sighing, he closed his eyes and drifted off into a deep sleep.


	9. Festival Preperations

**A/N:** Chapter nine is here, and I wanted to let Natsu have a little fun after all the stress, so hopefully you guys like this chapter :) Also, a little Wendy and Natsu BrOTP ;D

* * *

 **Chapter Nine**

* * *

"Hey, Wendy," Natsu said, setting his book on his lap to glance over at the small medic, who was working on a crossword puzzle at her desk, her brows furrowed. "What is it, Natsu?" she asked, glancing up at him.

"I was just wondering when I could leave the infirmary."

Wendy put down her pen and focused on him. "Well, it's only been about a week now. Your wounds are scabbing over, so I guess... you can leave..."

Natsu grinned. "Seriously?"

Wendy nodded. "Yeah. Although I don't want you staying by yourself."

"But—" Natsu started to protest, but Wendy cut him off. "No buts. You'll stay with Gray for at least another week, until your cuts develop scar tissue."

Natsu huffed but agreed anyway. It had been a week since he woke up in the infirmary, and so far, Gray had visited him almost every day, when he wasn't busy with other duties. Only one thing had really changed while he was recovering, and that was that Makarov—the leader of the Outpost—had given Natsu a room on the fourth floor. He was giddy with that news, considering it meant that he had a permanent place at the Outpost, and essentially wouldn't be running for his life as much as he used to.

Picking up his book, he started reading again, but he grew distracted and set it aside again, glancing out the window to his left to see a ton of people dragging a large amount of wooden crates towards the center of a sort of makeshift courtyard. "Hey," he said, curious, "what are they doing out there?"

Wendy followed his gaze and smiled. "Oh, that? There's a festival coming up."

"Festival?" Natsu asked, confused. Wendy rose and walked over to sit beside him. "Yeah. Okay, so, do you know the story behind this place?" Natsu shook his head, watching her curiously. Wendy folded her hands in her lap with a smile. "This place used to be a make-shift hospital that the army had set up—that's where we got the electric fence and the courtyard and such; it used to be full of tents and stuff. Anyway, one day there was a breach; a patient was brought in. They thought he just had a fever; maybe sepsis, considering he'd been shot. Anyway, he was bitten, but the bite was on his hip, so they didn't discover it until it was too late.

"He turned, and since there was only doctors around at the time, he bit them all, and soon infection broke out across the hospital. The army abandoned the hospital and left all those zombies locked up tight behind the electric fence, which they assumed no one could get over. But then Makarov showed up. He only had two people with him, but somehow all three of them managed to clear the entire hospital."

"What?" Natsu exclaimed, amazed. "Only three of them? And they did it all by themselves?"

Wendy nodded. "Anyway, once they had burned all the bodies, they decided to make it into a camp. Makarov is a retired sergeant, so he knows how to run thing from a military standpoint, so, as you can imagine, the Outpost did well from the get-go with him in charge."

"Whoa," Natsu said, with a new respect for the old man. "But, the festival?"

"I was getting to that." Wendy cleared her throat. "Anyway, the day the Outpost got up and running was July seventh, so every time July seventh rolls around, we hold a festival. It's kind of like a birthday party for the Outpost. Well, it's also a bit like the fourth of July, which we don't really celebrate, so I guess you could say it's the fourth of July mixes with a birthday party..."

Wendy must've realized she was rambling, because she blushed and cleared her throat again. "Anyway, it's really fun. There's fireworks, and lots of good food we don't normally have, and there's sparklers and a huge bonfire and— and—" She took a deep breath, seeming to collect herself. "It's very fun."

Natsu grinned. "It sounds great. But why are they starting preparations now when it's only July third?"

"There're lots of things to do, like set up the stage, and the cooking fires, and the buffet tables. Lots of stuff."

"The stage?" Natsu asked, raising an eyebrow. Wendy brightened. "Oh, yeah! There's a band for dancing, and it's basically like open mic night, only obviously without the mic. Anyway, anyone can sing or do some special thing, and it's very interesting. This is only the second festival, but last year's was such a success, I can't imagine anything going wrong this time around!"

"Well, I can't wait for it," Natsu said, barely containing his excitement just hearing Wendy go on about it. Wendy nodded, and her face seemed to redden and she got a dreamy look in her eyes. Natsu raised a brow. "Oh, I know that look. Who's the lucky guy?"

"Wha—what?" Wendy stuttered, growing redder. "I don't— I mean, there's no one, but— I—"

Natsu chuckled seeing the girl so flustered. "C'mon. Spill."

Wendy let out a long sigh. "Okay, so there might be this one guy..." Natsu smiled in encouragement, and Wendy took a deep breath. "He played the fiddle at last year's festival. He's got dark hair and lovely eyes and he plays so beautifully..." Wendy sighed happily and stared off into space, making Natsu laugh. "Well, do you think he likes you?"

Blushing an even deeper red, Wendy twisted the hem of her shirt between her fingers. "Oh, I don't know. I mean, he smiles at me a lot, but he could just be being friendly..."

Natsu shook his head. "No. In preteen-speak, smiling is promising."

Wendy perked up immediately. "You think so?"

At Natsu's nod, Wendy grinned so brightly Natsu had to look away to avoid being blinded. "Thanks, Natsu!"

"No problem," he said with a chuckle, watching her run back over and continue her crossword, noticeably more cheerful. Just then Gray walked in, wearing a... sword? Natsu raised an eyebrow as Gray struggled to sit down, eventually unstrapping the thing and tossing it on the floor in disgust.

"Um," Natsu started, amused, "why are you wearing a sword?"

Gray grunted, clearly annoyed. "Don't even bring it up. Lyon is getting on my last nerve."

"So he has something to do with it, I'm guessing?"

With a sigh, Gray answered, "It's for this dumb play our sister is putting on."

"Wait," Natsu said, holding up a hand. "You have a _sister_ , too? Why didn't you tell me?"

Gray shrugged. "Dunno. It never came up. Anyway, she's a real pain."

Sighing, Gray kicked the sword farther away from him. At Natsu's grin he glared and asked, "Got something to say?"

"Nope," Natsu answered, fighting to hold back a smile at the thought of Gray in fancy clothes wearing a sword. He couldn't keep a straight face as he also imagined Lyon in much the same fashion, and he burst out laughing. Gray glared at him, but Natsu was too busy doubling over and trying to catch his breath to care.

"Stop laughing before you kill yourself," he said, whacking Natsu on the back of the head. He groaned in protest and straightened, holding a hand to his head to defend it from further attacks. He smiled at Gray teasingly, earning an eye-roll. "You have way too much energy for an injured person, you know that?"

"Practically recovered person," Natsu corrected, still smiling as he sat back against his pillows.

"Oh. that reminds me," Wendy said from her spot at the desk, glancing over at them. "Gray, Natsu's going to stay with you for a week starting tomorrow."

"What? Why?" Gray asked, not seeming angry, but more curious.

"I don't want him by himself until he's well on his way to being fully healthy again, and he can't stay cooped up here in the infirmary or he'll develop bed sores. So that leaves your place."

Gray shrugged. "Okay. That's fine with me."

"Good," Wendy said, nodding to herself before she turned back to her crossword.

"Well, I'd best be going," Gray said after a while. "Lots of festival preparation to see to."

Natsu nodded. "See you tomorrow, then."

"See you tomorrow."

When he was gone, Natsu tried to go back to his book, but there was still something on his mind. "Wendy," he said, frowning.

"Yes?"

"Who were Makarov's two companions?"

Wendy looked over at him. "It's kind of a secret. They don't like people knowing about it."

Natsu's frown deepened, but he didn't press her. "Oh. That's okay then."

* * *

Gray was halfway to the lobby when he realized he'd forgotten his stupid sword. He sighed and continued walking, figuring he'd just grab it when he went to collect Natsu the next day. He stopped at the table Lucy, Lyon, and Makarov were gathered around and rested his elbows on it. "So, what did I miss?"

"Ah, Gray, perfect timing. I was just about to doll out some more orders for these two."

Gray nodded, and Makarov turned to Lucy. "Lucy, I want you to help Erza with the food preparations." The blonde nodded and scurried off, leaving Lyon and Gray alone at the table. "And you two, I need you to go out scavenging for me."

The boys nodded. "What do you need?"

"Scrap wood, plastic tarps, and some other things. I've prepared a list."

He handed Lyon the list and waved them off. "Good luck! Try not to die!"

"How reassuring," Lyon muttered, earning a snicker from Gray.

"C'mon. I want to leave before Ultear spots us and drags us back to practice that ridiculous play."

"Agreed."


	10. Unexpected Events

**A/N:** Chapter ten is here, and the festival is underway! Remember to show your love by following and favoriting, and please let me know what you think down in the review section! Extra long chapter this time ;) (Lol, I know you guys are extra worried with the title, but trust me, it's not what you're expecting.)

* * *

 **Chapter Ten**

* * *

Natsu bounced up and down, looking like a child on a sugar-high as he paced back and forth in front of the door, waiting for Gray to finish getting dressed. It was the day of the festival, and Natsu was more excited then he'd been in a long time, but Gray was proving to be like a girl when it came to getting ready; it had already been twenty minutes, and he _still_ wasn't ready.

"Hurry up, Ice Princess! You're so _sloooooowwww_ ," Natsu complained, bouncing from one foot to the other.

"Natsu, if you don't shut your trap, I'll shoot you in the leg and go to the festival without you," Gray called from the bathroom, his voice dripping with barely-hidden irritation. Natsu grinned, too happy at the prospect of having fun to be bothered by Gray's antics.

Finally, he exited the bathroom dressed in plain black jeans and a long-sleeved white shirt that hugged his chest very— Nope, not going there. He gave Natsu an annoyed look as he gathered up a bag and slung it over his shoulder. "You were complaining, so let's go already."

Natsu nodded and sprinted out the door happily, followed closely by Gray. The hallways and stairwell were awash with people, and Natsu almost lost Gray in all the hustle, and only managed to stay beside him by grabbing the strap of his bag. When they reached the lobby, they were swept out the doors by the masses of people, and eventually arrived in the courtyard.

Gray had told Natsu earlier that the festival began in the morning with games all day, and then the talent show. After that, the bonfire was lit, and the dancing and eating began. He also said that the night ended with a surprise, but no matter how much Natsu asked, Gray refused to tell him.

Finally letting go of Gray's pack, Natsu looked around, his eyes wide in wonder. "Whoa!" Carnival games were set up all up and down the courtyard, leaving only a very large space in the center empty. "Where's they find all these, anyway?"

"Before the apocalypse started, a carnival was situated in this town. Makarov had us raid it for this stuff, but we've all agreed it's been well worth it," Gray answered, smiling as two children ran by holding pinwheels and laughing. Natsu glanced around, eyes wide. "I don't even know where to start."

* * *

Gray glanced around at all the games, watching Natsu's eyes wander. He had to admit, the sakura-haired boy looked absolutely adorable with that child-like expression on his face. He forced himself to look away and his eyes fell on a nearby booth. His eyes immediately lit up and he grabbed Natsu hand, pulling him over. "Here; this one's always been my favorite."

Natsu's palm was warm, and Gray had to force himself to pull his hand away as he turned and snatched three balls from the bucket resting on the ground. "Do you know how to play?" Gray asked, glancing back at Natsu, who shook his head. "No. I never really went to a carnival."

"Here," Gray said, tugging Natsu forward with one hand. "Watch me." He handed two balls to Natsu and turned towards the three bottles set up against the back wall. "You're supposed to try and knock down those bottles. It's very simple, really."

Natsu nodded, rapt. Gray rolled his shoulder, cracking his neck from side to side. He'd played baseball in middle school, and couldn't help but do the usual wind-up as he took aim and threw the ball at the bottles. It hit the center one and sent it toppling over, knocking over the ones beside it in the process. Gray jumped up in victory and turned to grin at Natsu. "Ha! Did you see that?"

Seeming impressed, Natsu nodded. "Can I try?" As Gray set up the bottles for him, he felt the world spin around him for a split second and rested a hand on the crate the bottles rested on. After a second he was fine, and he frowned as he walked over to stand beside Natsu. _That was odd..._

* * *

The festival during the day was fun, but Natsu couldn't help but look forward to the night-time celebrations. While the carnival games were fun, the food and bonfire were what he was really looking forward to. Especially the food. But first was the talent show, and everyone gathered around the makeshift stage, which was constructed out of many crates and a huge plastic tarp.

There were a lot of singers in the talent show, but there were some odd acts, like gymnastics, harmonica-playing, and even someone on a pogo stick—although Natsu had no idea where they'd gotten _that_ from. It ended with Gray's sister's play, which made the audience laugh and even shed some tears. And then, finally, it was time for the bonfire.

People started gathering wood from the piles situated around the courtyard and piled them up in the center of the empty space. By the time all the wood was piled up, Gray, Lyon, and their sister had all returned from changing, and Gray stood with Natsu and Wendy as Makarov lit a large torch.

"I'd like to thank each and every one of you present for celebrating with me this momentous occasion, the forming of the Outpost!" This proclamation was followed by loud cheering, and Makarov had to hold up a hand for silence. "You all are like children to me, and I hope to enjoy more safe years with all of you! Now, is everyone ready to start the festivities?"

A cheer went up that put the previous one to shame, and with a mighty yell, Makarov cast the torch onto the bonfire. The flames roared upwards, and immediately the musicians gathered on the stage and began a song. Natsu wanted to eat, but before he could slip away, Wendy was pulling him into the figures of the dance.

* * *

Beside Gray, Wendy pulled Natsu on to the dance floor, and Gray felt a slight twinge of regret that he hadn't been the one to ask. But he quickly wiped it away as Lucy grabbed him and pulled him out to dance. The dance itself involved lots of stomping, hand-clapping, skipping, and spinning, and was exhausting, but still very fun. You switched partners every two turns, and Gray was spinning from partner to partner so fast he could barely get a glimpse of who he was dancing with.

The music swelled and grew bright and loud in the last score of the dance, and right as Natsu grasped the hands of his last partner, it ended on a high note of the fiddle, and Gray found himself gazing into Natsu's bright olive eyes. For a second they could only stare at each other, and Gray was very aware of the fact that their hands were still touching, even though everyone else had long since pulled theirs away.

Finally, Gray let go, trying to ease the frantic beating of his heart and slow his rapid breathing. It didn't seem to be working, though, and the light of the bonfire seemed to be too much for Gray. It left searing pain behind his eyes and he tried to turn away from it, but the world seemed to be spinning around him so fast, he thought he might still be dancing.

When he tried to take a step and stumbled, Gray felt Natsu's hand on his shoulder, and he was trying to say something, but the words seemed garbled. Finally his brain seemed to link the syllables to words and the words to a sentence; Natsu was asking him if he was okay. Gray looked back at him, trying to tell him that he was fine, but he just couldn't get the right words out. _What's happening to me?_

* * *

Natsu looked into Gray's eyes worriedly as he tried to say something, but only managed to wheeze. "Gray, what's wrong? Do you have asthma or something? Shit, that's it, isn't it?! Do I need to get Wendy?!" By now another dance had started, and Natsu and Gray were getting annoyed looks from the people who had to skirt around them.

"Gray, do you need to sit down, 'cause I really think we should get—" Before Natsu could finish his sentence, Gray's eyes rolled back in his head and he collapsed.

It took Natsu's brain a startled second to realize what had happened, and then he was kneeling, and the dancers had stopped dancing and were gathering around them, and Natsu felt so suffocated, but he knew he had to say; "Somebody get Wendy!"

It took ten long— _too_ long—seconds for Wendy to shove through the thick crowd and kneel on Gray's other side. Her face was pale, and she quickly stood. Lyon was kneeling beside Natsu now, and Wendy said, "Lyon, go prop open the doors. Natsu, get him up and follow me."

Lyon scurried off and Natsu slid one arm under Gray's shoulders and the other under his knees. He was surprisingly light, and Natsu stood with little effort and started carrying him towards the doors, Wendy leading the way. When they reached the infirmary, Natsu set Gray on a bed and Wendy looked up at him and Lyon. "Do either of you know if Gray has any open wounds? It doesn't matter how big or small, I just need to know."

Natsu shook his head, and Lyon started to, until he paled. "What?" Wendy demanded, seeing his crestfallen look. "What is it?!"

Lyon shook his head. "I didn't think anything of it, but... when we were rescuing Natsu, he stumbled for a second. But," he continued at Wendy's glare, "he seemed to be fine, so I didn't—"

"Turn him over," Wendy interrupted, her voice stern. Lyon and Natsu did as instructed, and feeling up and down the backs of his legs. When she reached his left calf, Gray let out a groan, and Wendy ordered, "Get his jeans off."

Natsu blushed slightly at the words, but shook it off to help Lyon. When they were off, leaving Gray in only a pair of gray boxers, Wendy gasped at the sight of his leg. When Natsu and Lyon saw it, they gasped, too, and for good reason. There was a hole in his leg, with a rough patch of red skin loosely growing over it. It oozed something gross-looking, and red lines spread out from the wound like veins. "Sepsis," Wendy breathed, her face pale.

At Natsu and Lyon's confused looks, she said, "Blood poisoning." Then she was racing off to a cabinet, digging around in it and finally pulling away with a large syringe with an even larger needle. She grabbed ones of Gray's arms, which was hanging off the bed limply, and searched frantically for a vein. When she found one, she jabbed the needle right in, and pressed down on the plunger. "Turn him back over," she demanded, and they did as instructed.

"There's no exit wound," Wendy said, worried. "That means he either left the bullet in, which I don't think he would do, or he tried to take it out himself."

"Um," Natsu piped up nervously, "what if he tried to take it out himself?"

Wendy ran a hand through her hair, clearly agitated. "He doesn't have any medical supplies, which means he most likely used a knife. And if he used a knife, there're most likely pieces of the bullet still in his leg, or maybe even shards of bone, if the bullet made contact with his tibia or fibula. But if it _did_ make contact with bone, I doubt he'd be able to walk, so maybe..." She was muttering to herself now, and Natsu and Lyon shared nervous looks. Wendy shook her head. "It must be bullet fragments. I'll have to extract them."

She finally looked up at them, seeming to remember they were there. "I need one of you to stay and assist. Natsu."

Lyon started to protest, but Wendy cut him off with a look. "Lyon, you need to go find Ultear. She's probably freaking out right now."

When he was gone, Wendy got out a box of gloves and threw a pair to Natsu. "I hope you don't mind blood. This might get a tad bit unpleasant."

Natsu gulped.

* * *

 **A/N:** Sorry for the cliffhanger, guys. (Lol, not really.)


	11. Waiting Sucks

**A/N:** Thanks for all the reviews, and I hope you all love this chapter :) Mostly just Natsu's thoughts. (Also, lol, another cliff-hanger ;D)

Also, guys, I'll be going on a little trip from the tenth through the seventeenth, so I unfortunately won't be posting any chapters until I get back. Sorry! (*laughs evilly at the fact that I left you with a cliffhanger and you'll have to wait a week for the next chapter* MWAHAHA ＼(-`‿´- )／)

* * *

 **Chapter Eleven**

* * *

Natsu was starting to think Gray was in a coma or something. He'd been passed out for a little over a week, and although his breathing had calmed and his fever had gone down a lot, he was still asleep. Natsu hadn't left his side ever since the festival, and had been acting as Wendy's helper, tending to minor injuries and even helping with some of the major ones. Wendy had even lent him a few books on medicine and anatomy, and—to his surprise—he actually thought they were really interesting.

Right now he was stitching up a long cut on Erza's arm; the redhead tended to get injured a lot. It scared him a little that she didn't even flinch as he stuck a needle through her flesh, but he was semi-used to it considering Gray had a fairly high pain tolerance, so he figured it wasn't that odd of a phenomenon.

Cutting the thread, Natsu put the bloodied needle in the tray of water beside him and got up to clean his hands in the bucket of water that was reserved for hand-washing while Erza stretched her arm experimentally. "You're getting pretty good," she commented, pulling the sleeve of her shirt down to cover the stitches.

Natsu shrugged, drying his hands on a rag. "It's not as hard as I thought it was."

Erza shook her head, giving him a knowing smile. "No, it's hard; I think you're just naturally good at it."

"Nah," Natsu said dismissively, a slight blush dusting his cheeks at the praise. Erza shook her head again and left, thanking Wendy at the door.

"She's right, you know," Wendy said, turning in her chair to face him. "I didn't realize how much help I needed until you started offering it."

Natsu was blushing outright now, and he shook his head again. "Shuddup..."

Wendy gave him a fond smile before turning back to her work. Natsu sighed and put away a few things, tidied up a bit, and finally took a seat in the chair beside Gray's bed, having nothing else to do. It was nearing one in the afternoon, so the only thing Natsu had to look forward to was the possibility of more work and dinner. And, as always, that Gray would wake up.

He tilted his head slightly, watching as Gray's chest rose and fell evenly. The sunlight streaming through the window hit the right side of his face, casting half in shadow, and his lips were open slightly, letting out faint exhales every other breath.

Natsu sighed and sat back in his chair, running a hand through his hair tiredly. _Why won't he just wake up already? It's getting boring without him..._ Natsu shook his head. _What am I saying? Not having Ice Princess wailing on me twenty-four-seven is... good, isn't it?_ Frowning, he slouched forward, his hands clasped between his knees. _I mean, sure I miss those irritatingly blue eyes, and that dumb smirk he always has that makes me think he knows something I don't, and that infernal eyebrow he's_ so _fond of raising, and hearing his cool voice through those god-forsaken_ lips _— Urgh, what am I_ saying _?! I'm acting like a love-sick puppy!_

Jolting, Natsu sat straight up like an exclamation point. _Love-sick puppy... love-sick puppy... love-sick..._ The words rang through his mind on infinite repeat, and he slumped back in his chair and let his head fall back to look up at the ceiling. _I don't..._ love _Gray, do I? And how would I even know if I_ did _love him, anyway? I've never been in_ real love _before... But, then again, I've never felt like_ this _with anyone_ _before, either..._

He sighed. _I mean, I knew I had a crush on him, but I didn't think that I actually_ loved _him. And what do I really know about love, anyway? It's not like I'm an expert on the_ _subject... And how am I supposed to find out for sure? Is there some way to_ _tell? Maybe I should ask someone... But who? I don't really know anyone that well except Gray and Wendy, and maybe Lucy and Erza... I can't ask Wendy, and Gray's obviously out, so I guess that leaves Lucy and Erza, then. But which one of them?_

Natsu frowned. _Either one will work. I guess I'll just ask whichever one I see first._ He nodded. _Yeah, that sounds good. I'll do that._ Satisfied that he could put away that particular problem for the time being, Natsu turned his attention back to Gray's well-being. _He really should've woken up by now. Is he actually in a coma? I guess there's no way to tell without all the machines and stuff we used to have... But surely Wendy would know? So he must be okay. He_ has _to be okay. I need_ someone _to go on jobs with._

He fell forward again and rested his head in his hands. _And maybe I do miss him_ a little _..._ _Okay, maybe a lot. I just wish there was some way to make him wake_ _up faster. But no; all I can do is_ _wait._

Natsu sighed. _Waiting_ sucks _._

* * *

Gray drifted in a gray haze, not really awake, but not really asleep, either. Sometimes he would hear voices; Natsu, Wendy, Lucy, Erza, and many others, but he wasn't sure if they were real or in his head. He dreamed sometimes, too. Mostly about Natsu, sometimes about Lyon and Ultear, and even Ur, once. He also relieved memories; some new, like meeting Natsu or dancing at the festival, and others old, like lighting firecrackers with Lyon and Ul in the backyard, and eating ice-cream on a hot summer day at the pool.

He was aware of what had happened to him—shot in the leg, fainted; all that good stuff—and he _wanted_ to wake up, but he just couldn't seem to do it. He'd been gathering his strength for the past week and was hoping today's attempt at at least getting his fingers to twitch would go better than the last eight had.

Taking a deep breath—mentally, of course—Gray focused on waking his body up, attempting to wiggle his fingers or maybe even open his eyes. For several seconds nothing happened, and he pushed harder, focusing all of his energy on moving, even a little, to let them know he was _there_.

Finally, his fingers twitched, and Gray let out the mental breath he'd been holding. _Yes! I did it!_

"Wendy, did you see that?!" Gray's heart lifted at the sound of Natsu's voice.

"Hear what?" Wendy this time.

"His fingers moved!"

There was the sound of Wendy's chair creaking, and her voice was much closer when she said, "I didn't see anything. Are you sure?"

 _Yes!_ Gray shouted inwardly. _I'm here, Wendy! C'mon, brain, let me_ wake up _!_ He concentrated very hard, and this time it was easier to make his fingers move. _Yes!_ _I must be waking up!_

"There! It happened again!" Natsu shouted, and Gray could practically imagine his hopeful expression.

"You're right!" Wendy exclaimed, and he could feel them both near him now. A warm hand slid in to his, and Gray was shocked to realize it must've been Natsu's, because it was too big to be Wendy's, and he'd definitely felt this palm before. "Gray," Natsu said, "if you can hear me, squeeze my hand."

 _Okay_ , Gray thought, _he wants a squeeze, I'll give him one._ Focusing even more intently then he had before, Gray squeezed Natsu's hand. He'd intended on squeezing hard to make the boy squeal, but unfortunately, all he could manage was a gentle push.

"He squeezed it!" Natsu yelled. "He squeezed my hand! Wendy!"

"He must be waking up, then. Although, it might take a while. I doubt he's strong enough to open his eyes right away."

 _Challenge accepted_ , Gray thought, tugging mentally at his eyelids, shouting at them to rise. _C'mon, damn it! I_ know _I've rested long enough!_

* * *

Natsu leaned over Gray, watching him intently. He realized he was closer to the boy's face than he probably should be, but he could care less at the moment. "You should sit down," Wendy told him as she walked towards the door. "I'm going to get an apple. Want anything?"

Shaking his head, Natsu continued watching Gray, ignoring Wendy's suggestion to sit. But after about eight minutes of staring and nothing happened, Natsu realized that standing over him when he awoke would look highly creepy, so he reluctantly sat down, still on the edge of his seat, despite himself.

Eventually he slouched back a little, yawning. He hadn't been getting much sleep lately, and it was starting to get to him. "C'mon Gray," he murmured, closing his eyes. "Wake up..."

* * *

Natsu jerked away, breathing heavily. He'd had a nightmare again; that same bright light shining in his eyes, and the same searing pain across his back. He'd had it every night that week, and had yet to tell anyone about it. Letting out a sigh, Natsu sat back in his chair, running a shaky hand through his hair. He glanced around, but Wendy was still gone. _I must not have slept very long_ , he reasoned, glancing around the room.

Now done re-orienting himself with the room, and assuring his panicked heart that he was safe, Natsu relaxed and finally glanced down to Gray. His hair was hanging over his forehead in messy waves—Natsu had discovered it got that way when un-brushed—and his skin looked less pale with the sun shining on it.

His irises were the same navy— Wait. Irises. Blue. Natsu jerked out of his seat, knocking his chair backward.

Gray's eyes.

They were open.

* * *

 **A/N:** Boom.

Silver. Out. (~￣▽￣)~


	12. Asking Lucy For Love Advice, Part 1

**A/N:** Finally back from my vacation, so here's the next chapter :D (Kind of a filler. Sorry :p Although, it does set up a few events I have planned for future chapters c;)

* * *

 **Chapter Twelve**

* * *

Natsu walked into Gray's apartment with a basket under one arm only to find the owner of said apartment doing push-ups in front of the couch. He almost dropped his basket. "What the hell, Gray?!" he exclaimed, crossing his arms and glaring at the raven-haired boy. "I was only gone for six minutes, and you start doing _push-ups_?"

"Shut up," Gray grunted, completing another rotation. "I told you already, I'm totally fine."

Letting out and exasperated sigh, Natsu walked behind Gray to sit on the couch, unpacking the items in the basket and setting them on the table. "You better not've pulled your stitches, Ice Princess, 'cause I ain't redoing 'em."

Gray didn't answer for a second, doing two more push-ups. "I'll stop at a hundred."

"What are you at?" Natsu asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Ninety-five, so shut up and let me concentrate."

" _Ninety-five_?!" Natsu spluttered. "I can't even do _thirty_."

"Well, that's 'cause you're you."

Natsu grabbed one of the sandwiches he had set on the table and nailed Gray on between his shoulder-blades with a glare. He collapsed, groaning as his forehead hit the ground. "Ow!" He pushed himself up, snatching the sandwich and looking at it with disdain. "You hit me with a _sandwich_?!"

"Yes," Natsu said, pleased. "Yes I did. Now eat and stop straining your leg."

"Fine," Gray grumbled, straightening so his back was resting on the coffee table and his legs were spread out in front of him. He unwrapped the sandwich and took a bite. "Ew," he complained, wrinkling his nose. "What's _on_ this?"

"Tomato, lettuce, cheese, ham, mayo," Natsu listed off. At "mayo" Gray grimaced and set the sandwich on the table. "I _hate_ mayo."

"Oh, sorry," Natsu said, anything but sorry. "My bad." He snatched the sandwich with a small smirk. "More for me, I guess."

Gray turned to point an accusatory finger at Natsu. "You did it on purpose, didn't you?!"

Grinning, Natsu stretched his legs out so his feet rested almost against Gray's back. "Me? I would _never_."

Snorting, Gray crossed his arms and glanced out the window, straightening his back to see over the ledge. "Not a lot of Zs out today," he commented, frowning. "Well, it's daytime," Natsu said offhandedly, finishing his sandwich and taking a bite of Gray's.

Shrugging, Gray slouched back against the coffee table and tilted his head back so it rested between Natsu's feet, and he was looking up at the ceiling. "Yeah."

* * *

Gray looked up at the ceiling, bored. "Natsu," he said after a while, turned his eyes back to look at the boy, who appeared upside-down to him. He wiped mayo from the corner of his mouth and met Gray's eyes. "What?"

"I want to go on a job."

Natsu visibly froze up and hurriedly shook his head. "Nope. No way. You're not fully healed, Wendy would kill both of us, and after what happened last time..."

"You're one to talk," Gray scoffed, closing his eyes. "Even if you don't remember, I do."

There was silence again for several long moments until Natsu finally spoke again. "If you really want to, I guess we can... But we'll have to be sneaky about it. And we're not going till tomorrow," he added, causing Gray to deflate slightly. "Urgh... Fine. But what am I supposed to do for the rest of the day?"

"You could help me and Wendy in the infirmary, or go up and assist Lucy and Erza in the greenhouses," Natsu suggested, tugging his feet to his chest and hugging them. Gray shrugged. "I suck at treating wounds, and I have the green thumb of a volcano."

"Oh," Natsu said with a frown. "Well then... You could help stock weapons, or work in the kitchen, or clean."

"Ul banned me from stocking weapons after the... rifle incident." Gray shuddered. "And I burn everything I touch in the kitchen."

"Well, that leaves cleaning, then, doesn't it? C'mon, I'll help you."

Gray sighed loudly. "Fiiiinnnnnee." He allowed Natsu to help him up, ignoring the fluttering in his stomach as their hands touched. _Geez, I thought I was over this..._ he thought, irritated as he followed Natsu towards the closet in the corner. After waking up, Gray had amended that it was really better for both of them if Gray shoved his feelings deep, deep, _deeeeeep_ down. After all, Natsu had already gotten kidnapped and tortured, and Gray had gotten shot; obviously the universe was trying to tell him off.

"I'll dust, you reorganize?" Natsu suggested, and Gray nodded quickly, slipping towards his bookshelves and trying to calm his racing thoughts. He started pulling books off the shelf randomly, stacking them on the floor and trying to look productive. _I do_ not _have any feelings for him. Nope, nope, nope. None_ whatsoever _. I am_ tottttaaalllly _over him._

"Gray?" Gray jumped about seven feet in the air and whipped around to find Natsu studying him with his eyebrows raised. "Um, yes?" _Geez, think of him and he shall appear, I guess..._

"Are you trying to organize those in any particular way, because the titles aren't alphabetical, and they're not arranged by author."

Gray bit his lip. "Er, uh, I was just getting them all off the shelf first, and _then_ I was going to organize them."

"Oh, well, let me help you."

"Um, okay..."

Natsu sat down beside Gray and started pulling books off the shelf, putting them in irritatingly neat little stacks. Gray tried not to look at him too long, but he couldn't seem to stop sneaking glances at him from the side. His hair was swept back from his forehead, and he had two clips keeping it pinned back out of his eyes. The sun from the window beside the shelf hit his face slant-ways, leaving shadows across his nose and making his olive eyes appear golden. Gray inwardly slapped himself and continued pulling books off the shelf. _Ugh, those are definitely_ not unromantic thoughts!

* * *

Natsu placed the last book on the ground and turned, sitting criss-cross and beginning to sort them by author, genre, and title.

"You're irritatingly efficient, you know that?" Gray told him, turning to face him and mirroring his position as he too started to sort the books into the small piles Natsu had started. Natsu stuck his tongue out at him and continued sorting with a dopey smile on his face.

"Are you actually happy about cleaning?" Gray asked incredulously, noticing that Natsu had started to hum lightly under his breath.

"Yep," Natsu said with a grin. "My uncle Atlas used to have me clean his garage all the time, and I guess I've just... always liked it. It's calming, and it's so simplistic to just... _organize_ _things_."

"You really are weird," Gray snorted, going back to his work. He had to admit, though, the humming and smiling really wasn't a turn-off. _No, no, bad, bad, bad! Stop it, brain!_ Gray growled and gripped his head angrily.

"Um..." Natsu asked cautiously, "are you... okay?"

"Fine!" Gray said quickly, busying himself with sorting. _Stupid, stupid, stupid, stupid, stupid!_

"Well, okay then..." They lapsed back into silence, until all the books were sorted, and Natsu stood to start putting them on the shelf. Gray joined him, and after a while, all the books were back on the shelf, now sorted alphabetically and by genre. Natsu dusted his hands off and stood back with his hands on his hips, surveying their work. "Looks perfect! Good job, Gray!" He held out a hand, and Gray just stared at it for several seconds before grasping it, and Natsu shook it once, grinning a closed-eye grin that made Gray's heart stop for several seconds.

He quickly pulled his hand away and sat on the couch. "Er, well, I'm going to take a nap now, so you just... do whatever!" He quickly lay down, turning his back to Natsu. "Well, I'll take one, too," he hard him said. "Although, if you're taking the couch, then I guess I'll take your bed."

"Fine," Gray said quickly, blushing at the thought of Natsu sleeping in his bed. He quickly closed his eyes, trying to clear his mind. _Obviously I'm not_ at all _over him... Fuck. What am I supposed to do about this?! I need to ask someone for advice. Not Lyon or Ul; they'd never let me hear the end of it. Wendy's too young for this stuff, so I guess that leaves Lucy and Erza. Probably Lucy rather than Erza. She's good with this kind of thing._

He rolled over, nodding to himself. _Yeah, I'll ask her when I see her tomorrow at breakfast._

* * *

Natsu flopped down in Gray's bed, sighing at the softness of the blanket and pillows. He burrowed under the covers and buried his face in the pillows, inhaling the fresh, hearty scent of Gray. He smelled like mint and evergreen, and so did his pillows.

Sighing and settling down, Natsu closed his eyes and drifted off to sleep.

* * *

He woke about two hours later and got up to see Gray still sound asleep, letting out soft exhales every other second. He tiptoed to the door and slipped on a pair of flip-flops, slipping the key in his pocket before softly opening and closing the door.

Walking down the stairs, he kept an eye out for Lucy or Erza. Since Gray was asleep, he figured it was the perfect time to ask one of them for advice. He thought Lucy was working in the kitchens today, so he headed for the mess hall. When he arrived, Natsu poked his head in the door. He caught Lucy's eye quickly and he waved her over.

The blonde excused herself quietly, slipping off her plastic gloves and following him out into a secluded corridor where they wouldn't be overheard. "Do you need something, Natsu?" she asked, her eyes kind.

"Um, yeah... I wanted to ask you about... something." Natsu rested a hand on the back of his neck, glancing at the ground with a faint blush. "Ooh!" Lucy said, nudging him suggestively and raising an eyebrow. "I know that look. You _like_ someone."

Natsu's blush deepened. "Er, yes... I wanted to ask you the best way to approach him..."

"Him!" Lucy exclaimed, her eyes gleaming. "This is getting juicier and juicier! Who is it? Lyon? Max? Jellal? Gray?"

When Natsu's face reddened and he flinched at the mention of the last name, Lucy let out a triumphant _Aha!_ "So it's _Graaaaayyy_ , huh?" she said teasingly. Natsu's blush reddened, and he nodded slightly. Lucy grinned. "Got a crush on old ice block, huh?"

"Yes," Natsu said, letting out a long sigh. "That's my problem. He just seems so... unapproachable."

"Don't worry," Lucy said, wrapping an arm around him and heading back towards the kitchens. "I think I can help you with this."

"But," Natsu said, confused, as she pushed him towards the stairs, "what are you going to do?"

Lucy smirked. "You'll see~"

Natsu gulped. _Why does that statement make me so nervous...?_


	13. Asking Lucy For Love Advice, Part 2

**A/N:** Here's chapter thirteen. Sorry these recent chapters haven't been very eventful, guys. I'm setting up tons of future events by writing these chapters, so just hang in there! The action will pick back up soon! Well, I guess there's a bit at the end of the chapter... Also, another cliffhanger! Haha, love you guys! ❤ (Please don't kill me c:)

* * *

 **Chapter Thirteen**

* * *

Gray woke in the morning to find Natsu still asleep. In his bed. Plus, Gray's neck felt like someone had stepped on it. Repeatedly. Maybe with boots on. He groaned and sat up, cracking his neck from side to side with a wince. He straightened and pressed his shoulder-blades together, and his back let out a loud creak in protest.

Judging by how light it was outside, it couldn't have been later then eight AM, so Gray decided to snatch the opportunity and go find Lucy or Erza to ask for advice. He quickly changed out of his clothes and made his way out the door and down the stairs.

In the cafeteria, Gray grabbed a bottled water and an apple before glancing around for a familiar face. Ul was sitting with her friends, Meredy, Juvia, and Yukino, and Lyon was nowhere to be found; probably still asleep. Wendy was sitting with Sherria and Romeo, and Erza was off sitting with Jellal, Millianna, and Kagura. Finally, he spotted Lucy in line waiting for a bagel, so he quickly made his way over to her.

"Hey, Gray," she said as he squeezed in beside her.

"Hey," he said nervously. "I need to talk to you about something."

Lucy raised an eyebrow. "Oh really?"

Gray nodded. "Although, I'd prefer to, um, do it in a less... public place. It's kind of, er, embarrassing."

Lucy's interest seemed peaked now as she grabbed her bagel and they stepped out of line. 'Fine. Follow me."

They went down a hallway outside the cafeteria and Lucy leaned against the wall. Gray did the same on the opposite wall, and took a deep breath. "I, well, I wanted to, um, well... I like someone," he finished lamely, feeling ridiculous. He still couldn't believe he was doing this...

"Well, you have to tell me who," Lucy said, seeming oddly excited. "I can help if you tell me who!"

Giving her a strange look, Gray shook his head. "Ugh, maybe I shouldn't... I just... This feels stupid..."

Lucy stopped him from walking past her by placing a firm hand on his shoulder. Gray grimaced, knowing that he wasn't getting out of this one. Taking another deep breath to calm himself, Gray turned. His nails bit into his palms as he took another deep breath. "Okay, fine. It's..." He murmured the name, his eyes flicking to the side.

"What was that?" Lucy asked, raising an eyebrow.

Gray growled and drug a hand through his hair. "Natsu," he snapped. "It's Natsu, okay?!"

Lucy held a hand over her mouth to stop a laugh. Gray looked at her, confused. After a second Lucy looked back at him, wearing a straight face. "Sorry, sorry, just remembered something. Anyway, you like Natsu?"

"Um, yes...?" Gray said slowly, still very confused. _What the hell... Is she sleep-deprived or something?_

"That's... interesting." Lucy held a hand to her lips, seeming to be thinking deeply. "I think I can help you with your little problem."

"How?" Gray asked, slightly worried at the look in the blonde's eyes.

"Just give me a few days."

"Um, okay?" Gray said uncertainly as Lucy turned and literally started skipping down the hallway.

When she was gone, Gray stood there for several seconds, staring at the spot she'd just been. "What... just happened?"

* * *

Natsu woke pressed against something soft and smooth that was nowhere near as nice as the couch he had been sleeping on, and for a second, he had no idea where he was. Then he smelled something minty fresh and absolutely fantastic, and an image of navy eyes and raven hair flitted through his mind.

 _Gray. I'm in Gray's bed. And... I didn't have any nightmares._ That thought prompted Natsu to open his eyes and sit up, looking around, shocked. For the first time in days, he wasn't tired at all, and he'd finally gotten a full night's rest.

Stretching his arms above his head, Natsu glanced over to the couch, only to find Gray missing. He sighed and lay back down, snuggling back into the blankets and inhaling Gray's scent.

A while later, the door opened, but Natsu was too tired to look. There was the sound of the door closing, and then something hit the floor; presumably Gray had just kicked his shoes off. Natsu listened as Gray walked closer, his footsteps light against the wood floor. There was pressure on the bed springs, and Gray's voice close to Natsu's ear. "Natsu? You up?"

A hand lightly tapped his shoulder, and Natsu mumbled a quiet, "No."

"Natsu," Gray said again, tapping his shoulder slightly harder this time. "Get up."

"No," Natsu repeated, reaching out a leg to try and kick Gray away. Gray simply grabbed his leg, and proceeded to drag him out of the bed. "OW!" Natsu yowled as his head hit the floor. He sat up and gripped his skull tightly, wincing. " _Owwwwwww_ , Gray, that _hurt_!"

"It was _supposed_ _to_ ," Gray said, flopping down on the bed. "I want my bed back, flame brain."

"Flame brain?" Natsu asked, shooting a glare back at him as he used the bed to haul himself to his feet.

"Because you're so hotheaded," Gray said with a smirk, crossing his legs and reaching for a book on his nightstand.

"Well, _ice princess_ ," Natsu retorted, pulling back the blankets on the empty side of the bed and sliding in, "if you're only going to read, I'm going to sleep."

"Go sleep on the couch," Gray said, swatting Natsu away. Natsu shook his head and pulled the covers up to his neck, turning so his back faced Gray—because no way in _hell_ could he face him at such close proximity. "No. Your bed is comfortable. And it smells really good." He mumbled the last part, and he was sure Gray hadn't heard it.

"What?" Gray asked, confirming his suspicions.

"Nothing," Natsu said, closing his eyes with a slight smile.

They lapsed into a comfortable silence, and Natsu found himself asleep within minutes.

* * *

A sharp tap made Gray jerk awake, the book that had been resting on his chest tumbling to the ground. He realized he must've fallen asleep reading, and glanced out the window to estimate the time. It was dark, and Gray did a double-take. _What? I started reading at, like, ten or eleven... How on earth did I sleep for so long?_

Then the sound which had woken Gray came again; a rapping at the door. Sighing, he swung his legs over the edge of the bed and made his way over to the door, opening it and squinting out at the two people that stood in the hallway. He had to rub his eyes to see them clearly, and when he did, he grew annoyed. "Lucy, Erza, what the hell are you doing here? I was asle—"

Lucy gripped his shoulders tightly, stopping Gray in his tracks. The panicked look on her face sent shivers down his spine. Something had happened.

"Gray, you have to get up and come help!"

"Help... with what?" Gray asked, gulping. He'd never seen his friend like this, and it scared him.

"Ly— Lyon, and— and Mi—" Lucy broke down into sobs, and Erza patted her on the back and stepped forward to explain in her place. "Michelle, Lyon, and a few others were out on patrol, and someone attacked them."

"Zs?" Gray asked, immediately alert, worry filling him at the mention of his brother. But Erza shook her head, her face grave. "No. It was a group of people. They snatched them all and left us... Well, you should really come and see it for yourself. It's... unpleasant."

"Give me three seconds," Gray said gravely, and Erza nodded before he closed the door and spun on his heel, frantically gathering his shoes and pulling them on as he headed towards the bed, where Natsu was still asleep. He grabbed him by the shoulders and shook him roughly, and the boy looked up at him sleepily. "Natsu, get up. It's an emergency."

That was all it took to wake him up, and soon Natsu was dressed and ready beside Gray. They quickly left the apartment, and followed Erza and a prone Lucy down the stairs and towards the lobby. The halls, which were normally quiet at this time of night, were abuzz with people, rushing past each other and talking in low, tense voices.

When they reached the lobby, Erza made a beeline for the large table set up in the center that was usually used for strategizing and planning for raids. Makarov, Loke, Jellal, and Ultear were already gathered around the table, and looks of relief crossed their faces when Gray and Natsu arrived.

"Thank God you two are here. Natsu, I need you in the infirmary _now_ ," Makarov ordered, and Loke started tugging him away. Natsu gave Gray a confused look before turning and disappearing in the masses of people.

"To brief you quickly, Gray, I sent out the usual night patrol about two hours ago, consisting of Lyon, Michelle, Sorano, Sting, and Rogue. As you know, circling the block only takes about thirty minutes, so of course I got worried when they hadn't returned after an hour. So I sent out Erza, Jellal, and Juvia to check it out. They reported back, and apparently a group of people kidnapped four of them. Our team arrived just in time to see them running, and they could do nothing because the enemy had heavy artillery."

"Wait," Gray said, frowning. " _Four_?"

Makarov's mouth formed into a grim line. "Yes, four. The fifth—Sorano—was left behind."

"But why would they do that?" Gray asked, frowning. "What was the aim of their attack, anyway?"

"That's what I was getting to," Makarov said, pointing to a spot on the map that was glued to the tabletop. "This here is the Outpost"—he pointed to a spot on the map—"and this"—he moved his finger west about three inches—"is where our territory ends. We haven't been able to access these three blocks because of the heavy Z population there, so obviously we don't know what's over there."

"And?" Gray asked, not quite getting the point he was making.

"And that warehouse where you and Natsu were ambushed?" Makarov slid his finger to the left and tapped it against a little building on the map. "That's _right_ on the edge of that uncharted territory."

Gray's face paled. "So, you think it was them again?"

Makarov nodded. "That's exactly what I think. That's why I wanted to talk to you. You're more familiar with them than any of us. Do you have any idea what their motives are?"

"Well, I only overheard a bit of the conversation, but... they knew we were coming. It was only by the skin of our teeth that they didn't catch us. And they were... torturing Natsu, so I'd wager a guess they want information."

"But on what?" Makarov stressed.

Gray looked up at him. "The Outpost. And not only that; they have an immense supply of guns."

Makarov growled. "Dammit. They were probably luring hunters in to get information. It was pure unluckiness that they grabbed Natsu. I'm guessing they didn't know he had just arrived, and didn't know any of our secrets. But Lyon, Michelle, Sting, and Rogue..."

Erza cursed. "If they're planning on torturing them, we have to send out a rescue party now, before they can get any information."

Suddenly, there was a shout from the door, and the six of them shared a look before a shout rang out.

"It's Sting! We found Sting!"


	14. The Calm Before The Storm

**A/N:** Chapter fourteen is here, and the action is finally picking up! Remember to let me know what you guys think down in the review section, and show your love by following and favoriting! ;) (Ooh, action-packed chapter.)

* * *

 **Chapter Fourteen**

* * *

As soon as the news sunk in, everyone was rushing out of the lobby and towards the front of the room, where two people were dragging in a pale Sting. He was conscious, but a bullet hole in his leg sprayed blood. As soon as they got to the infirmary, Makarov forced everyone out save for Wendy, Natsu, Gray, and Ultear.

As Wendy instructed Natsu to put pressure on the wound, Makarov started asking questions. "Sting, what happened. You must tell us."

Sting took a deep breath, sweat dotting his forehead. "I— I made a... break for it. I maanged... to get... around the corner and started running, but... they got me in the leg. Then Lyon... and Rogue... distracted them, so I could get away."

"Where are they headed?" Gray butted in.

Sting took a labored breath. "Towards this huge... tower thing... in the west. It's... impossible... to miss it. Please, you have to... go rescue... them." With that, he passed out, and Makarov cursed. "We'll put together a party immediately. Gray, Ultear, you'll go with Erza and Lucy. And Wendy, as much as I'd like for you to have a helper here, I need someone who can handle basic medical training to go with them, so Natsu, you'll be going as well. Plus, your talents as a sniper will help tremendously."

Natsu nodded before continuing wrapping Sting's leg in bandages.

Gray wanted to protest, considering what happened to Natsu last time they came up against these people, but he too had gotten hurt, and he supposed he couldn't stop Natsu from going, no matter what he thought about it.

Since the craziness had died down, Gray now took notice of the occupant in the other bed. Gray had only seen her a few times, seeing as how they weren't exactly friends, but he recognized the woman because she looked exactly like her sister, Yukino, who currently sat in the chair beside the bed, clutching her hand tightly. It was Sorano Aguria, and she looked like hell, to put it kindly.

Her whole body was bruised and scraped, and her breathing was labored, her brow furrowed in pain and sweat staining her forehead. "So they left her behind as what, a message to us?" Gray asked, disgusted at what they had done. Makarov nodded. "They left a note, as well."

He handed a crumpled piece of paper to Gray, who silently read through it.

 _Dearest Makarov,_

 _First of all, I'd like to say hello. You don't know me, but I know you very well. I would tell you what I'm planning, but that wouldn't be any fun, now would it? Think of this attack as not only payback for taking that little sakura-haired boy away from me, but also as an attack on the Outpost._

 _Fell free to try and rescue them, but know this; I am stronger than you. Much stronger._

 _But do please try. I think it would be fun._

 _All I ask is this; if you do send out a rescue party or whatever it is you'd like to call it, do include those two boys from before. I feel they'd be the most challenging of your little organization, and I like challenges._

 _Come and get me._

 _\- Z_

Gray crumpled the note in his fist. "He wants us to come. He _expects_ us to come." He whirled around on Makarov. "You're just going to send both of us, just like he asked?"

Makarov grimaced. "As much as I don't want to, you're one of the best here, and I need someone with medical training."

"Then send Wendy!" Gray hissed.

"I can't. I need her here for Sorano and Sting," Makarov said in a low tone, so none of the others heard. "She's too valuable right now, and she's only fourteen, Gray. I won't get her involved in this. And Natsu is the most talented sniper we have at the moment, so I won't pass up an opportunity."

Gray sighed irritably and tugged a hand through his hair. Wendy was like a little sister to him; of course he didn't want her to get hurt. And he was right when he said Natsu was a fantastic sniper. But walking right into the trap that was obviously set for them? No way was Makarov that stupid. But he figured he had no choice. This was their only way to save Lyon and the rest, and no way would Gray just sit back and watch.

"Okay," he finally said. "Let's go, then."

"Go gather your weapons and meet the rest of us at the doors in ten minutes."

"Right."

"Oh, and Gray?" Makarov called, and Gray paused at the door, Natsu already walking out in front of him. "Stop by the armory. I have something special I want you to take with you."

* * *

Natsu and Gray gathered their weapons and packs in silence, and Natsu felt an undertone of nerves behind his every movement. He didn't know why he was suddenly nervous, but he knew he needed to shake it off. Everyone was counting on them, and he couldn't let everyone down, especially Gray.

When they had everything, they started towards the main floor, but when they reached it, Gray told Natsu to go ahead, saying he needed to grab one last thing. Natsu shrugged and continued towards the doors. Lucy caught up with him, and Natsu couldn't help but notice how tense she looked. Not only tense, but angry.

"What's wrong?" he asked her as they settled against the wall beside the door to wait.

"You know the ones captured, right?" Lucy asked, her voice tense. Natsu nodded. "Yes, well, one of them was my little sister. Michelle." Her tone turned sad when she said her sister's name, and Lucy's fists clenched. "But I'm going to get her back, and these bastards are gonna get what they've got coming to them, not only for you and Gray, but also for Michelle, and everyone else they've taken."

Natsu gave her a small smile. "Thanks, Luce."

They fell into silence, and Gray couldn't help but wonder where Gray was. Ultear was also missing, and it was nearing the ten minute marker Makarov had set for them. But finally they came jogging down the hall, and everyone was gathered and ready.

As they walked out the doors and towards the gates, Makarov pulled Natsu aside and handed him a card. "Here." he said. "This is long overdo. Welcome to the team, son."

As the old man walked ahead, Natsu gazed down at the card. It was similar to the ones he'd noticed Lucy and Gray carrying, only his had a small flame charm attached to it. He grinned and stuck it in his pocket.

* * *

"Alright, I want this quick, precise, and clean. I want zero casualties, if possible. Got that?"

Everyone nodded, and Makarov gave them all a look of fondness. "Good. Now be safe, my children. I'll see you all soon."

As soon as they were outside, the gates closed behind them, and they started heading west. "Guns out," Ultear whispered to the others, and everyone pulled out a gun and held it at attention. The streets were oddly calm, and Gray felt something tighten in his chest.

It was quiet. Far too quiet. And Gray couldn't help but feel like it was the calm before the storm.

The group's breaths were the only sound in the air aside from the rustling of tattered fabric, and the wind blowing through the empty streets. The moon shone against the broken glass littering the edges of the street, and the wind howled through the hollow shells of buildings, making an ominous echoing sound.

The hulking shadows of the ghost buildings lining the sides of the street like silent soldiers at attention looked creepy, and only added to the cold emptiness around them.

"This is so creepy," Natsu whispered from beside Gray, his eyes darting around anxiously.

"What did you expect?" Gray whispered back. "Ever since this whole thing started, the whole _world_ has looked like a ghost town."

Natsu shrugged. "Still... It's also kind of pretty, if you think about it."

Gray went silent, allowing that thought to float around in his head. Soon it was replaced by what Ultear had said to him earlier, when they were leaving the armory.

* * *

"You know this mission is going to be dangerous, right?"

Gray shrugged. "Yeah? So?"

"So, I see how you look at him."

Gray stiffened. "I have no idea to whom you're referring."

"You know who," Ultear said with an eye roll, before she grew serious again. "Anyway, this could end badly for any of us, including _him_. You should really tell him how you feel before we leave, just in case either of you don't come back from this."

"No," Gray said, shaking his head. "We'll _all_ come back from this, Ul. I know it."

"Whatever you say," Ultear said with a sigh. "I just hope you don't regret this later."

* * *

Gray shook his head. _Stupid Ul. Why would she say something like that, anyway? Of course we'll all come back._

"Look," Lucy said suddenly, pointing a pale finger towards a looming shadow in the distance. "That must be the tower."

"You're right," Erza said in a low voice, hoisting her gun higher on her shoulder. "Everyone, get ready. We might run into a little... _interference_."

Gray's finger tightened over the trigger of his gun, and they started moving forward at a slightly quicker pace. Within minutes they were about twenty feet from the tower, which looked even bigger up close, stretching almost thirty feet into the air.

Ultear held up a hand to stop everyone, her eyes scanning the cityscape around them. "This seems too... easy. Surely they'd have guards this close to the tower?"

Natsu took a few steps past her and scanned the area, his brows furrowed. "Do you guys smell that? It smells like... gunpowder?"

Gray's eyes widened in recognition, and Erza's and Ul's a second behind him. "Hit the deck!" he yelled, tackling Natsu right as an explosion rocked the earth. The two buildings right in front of them went up in a fiery blast, and toppled towards the street. Gray scrambled to his feet, pulling Natsu up beside him and shoving him forward. "Everyone, run! We need to reach the other side before the buildings collapse and block the way!"

Everyone made a mad dash towards the tower, dodging burning rubble and coughing from the smoke, their eyes watering from the intense heat. As soon as they cleared the stretch, the building crumbled, and they were all knocked off their feet by the impact of the buildings crashing against the ground and each other.

As the dust settled, Gray coughed and groaned. "Is everyone okay?" he asked, his voice raspy.

A second later, more coughs and groans chorused around him. "A-okay," Lucy mumbled, followed by a "Fine," from Erza."

"Natsu?" Gray asked, pushing himself up to his hands and knees.

" _Fantastic_ ," Natsu grumbled, pushing himself into a sitting position and shaking dust and small pieces of rubble from his hair.

They slowly hauled themselves to their feet, making sure everyone had escaped major injury and that they still had their supplies before slowly starting to walk towards the tower. Natsu was limping slightly, Erza's jeans were ripped and her knee was bleeding, and Lucy had many scrapes and bruises, while Gray himself had sprained his right wrist. Good thing he shot with his left.

"Well, I didn't expect that," Erza said after a while. "Do you think they'll assume we're dead and not come check?"

"I hope so," Lucy grumbled. "Although I would like to shoot someone in the face quite a lot right about now."

"You're not the only one," Natsu agreed.

Gray's eyes scanned the area, still wary after the explosion. Natsu and Lucy continued to talk, with Erza occasionaly chiming in. Gray only saw the gun because of the glint from the moon and the flames behind them. "Natsu! Look out!" Gray tackled him, and the bullet pinged against the ground right where he'd been standing. "Run!" Erza yelled, and Gray pulled Natsu to his feet, grabbed his hand, and took of sprinting down the street.

"So much for them leaving us alone!" Natsu yelled as bullets peppered the ground around them.

"We're almost there!" Erza shouted in response. They were three feet from the tower entrance now, and they picked up the pace for the last stretch, bolting through the door and closing it behind them.

They were inside the tower.


	15. The Tower

**A/N:** Here's another chapter lovelies! Remember to let me know what you think down in the review section, and look forward to a ton of cliffhangers, because I love you all c:

* * *

 **Chapter Fifteen**

* * *

The room they were in now appeared to be a lobby, and it was crisp, clean, and immaculate, but empty. Natsu immediately felt nervous, and glanced around warily. "Should there be... people around?"

"Yeah," Gray said slowly. "Especially considering they just shot at us."

Lucy hoisted her gun and glanced around. "It doesn't matter. We need to find them, and get out."

Ultear nodded in agreement. "Let's split up. Lucy, Erza, you guys come with me. We'll check this floor. Natsu, Gray, you guys go up the stairs and clear the second, got it?"

"Got it," Gray said, and he started towards the stairs. Natsu walked a few steps behind him, clutching his gun tightly. He had the feeling that they were being watched somehow, and he picked up his pace to stick close to Gray. They went into the stairwell and started up the steps, their footsteps echoing all around them in the enclosed space.

When they reached the second floor, they exited the stairwell and Gray took the lead, his gun up as he crept down the hallway. The second floor was simply an interlocking set of hallways, with empty compartments by the doors that used to hold name plaques, so Natsu guessed it was an old office building.

His feelings of unease only grew when they entered an open area filled with crates. It was presumably where the desks and office cubes used to be, but now that was all gone and stacks of boxes filled the space. They were about two steps past the door-frame when Natsu saw two men entering from another direction. He quickly grabbed Gray and ran behind the stacks of boxes.

They cautiously peeked their heads out just slightly in order to be able to see, and listened to the men's conversation.

"Do you think they're here yet?"

"Yeah, I bet they are. Zeref's men were watching them earlier. I heard that kid with the pink hair came back. Surprised me, though. Thought he would've learned from last time."

The other man shrugged. "Eh, he's just stubborn, I bet. Anyway, what are the orders for tonight, anyway?"

"Apprehend the girls and leave the boys to Zeref."

"Ah. Probably wants personal revenge for last time."

"Probably, but I wonder—" By then they had passed by, and Natsu could no longer hear what they were saying. He turned to Gray, whose fists were clenched. A look of murderous intent crossed his face before he stood and started back the way that had come. "C'mon. We're going to get the girls, then we're going to the top floor. I bet that's where that bastard is hiding out."

"Okay," Natsu said uneasily. "But doesn't this all feel a little... strange? I mean, those guys said that Zeref or whoever's men were watching us earlier."

"Well we'll just have to find them and shoot them, won't we?" Gray retorted, pulling Natsu towards the stairwell. "C'mon, before they come back."

* * *

Gray pulled Natsu towards the stairwell, and took the steps two at a time until they reached the main floor. It was still empty and quiet, but this time Gray knew that it wasn't natural quiet. He tilted his head to the side and listened intently for any sound. For several seconds there was nothing except the sound of him and Natsu breathing, but then there was a slight shuffling, so quiet he almost didn't catch it.

His gun was up and he had fired a bullet before a second had passed. There was a grunt and a body hitting the floor, and then Gray heard the sound of a trigger being pulled. He did a somersault across the ground and aimed his gun at the now visible guard. He shot and missed by about two centimeters. Before the other man could shoot again, though, a bullet went through his head and he collapsed.

Gray, now on one knee, turned to see Natsu, his gun still raised.

"Thanks," he breathed. Natsu shrugged. "Don't mention it."

Suddenly, a shout came from a nearby room, and Gray quickly got to his feet and ran towards it. Inside, chaos was raging. Ultear and Lucy were trading shots with two men on the other side of the room, and Erza sat behind them, unconscious. Gray and Natsu quickly took care of the two men before gathering with the girls.

"What happened?" Gray asked, gesturing at Erza with concern.

"She got shot in the side. It's pretty bad. I think one of us needs to take her back."

Gray's brain immediately jumped to the one person he wanted out of there. "Natsu, you take her."

Natsu shook his head. "No. Lucy can take her."

"He's right," Ultear said, giving Gray a look. "We need a doctor here. Lucy, can you take her?"

Lucy nodded, picking up Erza and slinging her over her back. "Yeah. I'll be back."

As she made for the door, Gray cursed under his breath. Idiot. Why won't you just go back?

"Let's head for the top floor," Ultear said, jolting Gray out of his thoughts.

"We were already planning on it," Gray grumbled, heading for the stairs.

Ultear walked ahead of him and took the lead, and all three of them climbed the stairs in silence.

* * *

On the eighteenth flight of stairs, Natsu had to stop to gather his breath. His lungs and legs were on fire, and he couldn't believe Gray and Ultear weren't tired yet. "How many floors _are_ there?" he asked exasperatedly.

"Probably about thirty," Gray responded, "so get walking."

* * *

By the time they reached the top floor, Natsu was half-dead. When they exited the stairwell, his heavy breaths were the only thing that filled the silence. "Stop breathing so loudly, would you?" Gray hissed. "They'll hear it!"

"Sorry," Natsu panted, and he closed his mouth and tried to even out his breaths.

The top floor was full of maze-like hallways, and it seemed to stretch out in every direction. "We're going to have to split up," Ultear said. "Natsu, you go left, Gray, you go right, and I'll go straight. Meet back here, or call for the others if anything happens. Got it?"

There were choruses of "Got it," before Ultear nodded and sprinted off in her direction. Natsu was turning when Gray called out to him. "Natsu, wait."

He turned to face him, raising an eyebrow. "Yes?"

"Just— Something Ultear told me earlier is getting to me, and I need— I need to tell you something."

"What?" Natsu asked, confused as Gray took several steps forward until they were only an inch apart.

Gray took a deep breath. "Just— You better come back safe, okay?!" He grabbed Natsu by the front of the shirt, kissed him, turned, and sprinted down the hallway. Natsu stood still for several seconds, stunned. Did he just— Did we just— What...?

Natsu shook himself out of his stupor and turned around. _I can't think of this now, no matter how much I want to. I need to focus on the mission and actually get back safe so I can confront that jerk._

He walked down the hallway he was assigned with his gun up, his heart still hammering in his ears. He searched the hallway for rooms, but the only rooms seemed to be at the very end. There was one door in the middle, and one directly to the left. Natsu took the one to the left, pressing his ear against it. He didn't hear any voices, so he cautiously opened the door and stepped inside.

It was full of whiteboards, all covered in scrawled notes, drawings, and papers. Natsu couldn't understand a word of it, so he set his eyes on the desk in the middle of the room instead. He went over to it and poked around. The surface was covered in notebooks, and Natsu swiped a few and stuck them in his bag, just in case they contained anything important.

Next he searched through the drawers. One contained nothing but pens and pencils, and the rest contained equally useless items. The last one, though, was full of vials of strange pink liquid, in a small black box. Natsu put the lid on the box and threw that in his bag as well, figuring Wendy would know what it was. And hey, if it was medicine, they could use it.

Natsu shut the drawer and went around the desk, turning to the door, only to see a boy with black hair and cold, onyx eyes standing there, staring at him. He froze. "Oh shit."

The boy smiled at him. "Well, well, well, _look_ what we have here."

Natsu pulled out his gun, but the boy was faster. He had a pistol out and aimed at Natsu's head before he could even reach for the trigger. "Ah, ah, ah, none of that. Drop it and kick it over."

Gritting his teeth, Natsu dropped his gun and kicked it across, where the boy kicked it back to the door. "You probably don't remember me, do you? After all, the light was shining in your eyes."

Natsu froze, his nightmares replaying in his head. A cold sweat broke out on his forehead, and his eyes widened slightly. _Those... weren't just dreams._

"Come with me," the boy said, jerking the gun to the side to indicate Natsu moving. Natsu walked over to him slowly, eyeing his gun and thinking about making a grab for it.

"Don't even think about it," the boy said, opening the door and shoving Natsu out in front of him. Natsu cursed. _Shit, shit, shit, how am I supposed to get out of this?!_

* * *

Gray's hallway ended in a single door, but all the room contained was a few desks and a filing cabinet. Dissapointed and slightly pissed, Gray turned back around and stormed back towards the hallway, intending to head Ul's way. However, as he was ducking into the hallway, he spotted Natsu walking forwards. Natsu didn't see him, and Gray was about to call out to him when he noticed the boy standing behind Natsu, holding a gun to his back.

Pressing himself flat into an alcove containing old drinking fountains that no longer worked, he ducked his head out to watch as the boy prodded Natsu forward adn they started down the middle hallway. Recognition sparked in Gray's mind, and his hands clenched into fists. It was him. It was the boy from the photo that he'd seen; the one responsible for torturing Natsu.

 _No, no, no, no. How could that idiot let himself be caught again?! What am I supposed to do?! Ul is down there. Maybe she can jump him and knock him out..._

As soon as the boy disappeared from sight, Gray ducked back into the hallway and pressed himself to the wall, walking all the way to the edge and peering around the corner. The hallway made a left, and Gray waited for them to duck around the corner before he followed after them, his gun up and ready. He would shoot the boy now, but in a hallway, there was the risk of it ricocheting and hitting Natsu, or the boy's finger would hit the trigger before he went down. Or Gray could miss.

Anyway, the odds were stacked against him, so his only choice was to follow them.

The hallway ended in a single door, just like his, and the boy opened it before shoving Natsu in ahead of him and closing the door. Gray made a mad sprint for the door, pressing his ear against it as soon as he reached it. There was a muffled shout, and a clatter. Gray grinned and opened the door, assuming Ul had just umped the boy.

Unfortunately, all he saw was Ul and Natsu against the wall, Ul's gun under the boy's foot. Gray whipped his gun up but the boy quickly turned his gun and shot Gray in the hand. Gray let out a shout and dropped the gun, which the boy quickly snatched. He smirked at him. "Well, look at this. I've got all three of you, weaponless and defenseless."

He waved Gray over to the wall, and he walked over, glaring daggers at the boy and clutching his bleeding hand.

 _Well shit, this did_ not _pan out as I expected._

* * *

 **A/N:** Yes, they finally kissed! Well, kinda... And another cliffhanger. Anyway, guys, just wait, 'cause things are picking up! There will be a lot more action (of both kinds c;) in the next few chapters, so stay tuned!


	16. Grenade

**A/N:** Here's the next chapter, finally! Sorry it took me so long, but I've been very busy these last few days. (Slightly short chapter. Semi-cliffhanger.)

* * *

 **Chapter Sixteen**

* * *

Natsu stared down the barrel of the gun, gulping. He'd been held at gun-point before (thrice), so this was nothing new to him, but having someone he cared about there made it a thousand times worse. That's partly why he'd always gone solo; he didn't want anything or anyone to tie him down or hold him back.

But he thought it would be different at the Outpost. He thought they could handle themselves, so it wouldn't hurt to make a couple of allies, if not friends. And he knew they could handle themselves. He scolded himself for believing they couldn't Obviously none of them had expected this to happen.

And it was all Natsu's fault for getting caught in the first place.

The boy slowly moved the gun between the three of them, and his eyes never strayed from them. leaving no chance of escape. "Well, I suppose I should feel honored. To have three great hunters in my tower? Astonishing."

Ultear and Gray shared a glance, and Natsu flicked a look over at them discreetly. Did they have a plan? He hoped so, because he sure didn't.

"Who are you?" Ultear asked, drawing the boy's attention.

"Oh, of course; how rude of me to forget to introduce myself. I am Zeref Black. And of course I already know you three." His cold black eyes turned to Natsu, along with the gun. "Natsu Dragneel, A.K.A. Ten Thousand." The gun turned to Gray. "Gray Fullbuster, A.K.A. Ice." The gun was on Ultear. "And Ultear Fullbuster, A.K.A. Aeona."

Natsu gulped. Was it creepy that he knew all of their names? Definitely. Definitely very creepy.

"Now that we've been introduced, I must get my business out of the way. Macbeth." A man stepped out of the shadows, dressed in all black, a rifle strapped over his back and a pistol at his hip. Zeref gestured at Ultear. "Take the girl to the cells."

Ultear and Gray's eyes locked, and they seemed to have a silent conversation until Gray nodded ever so slightly, and Ultear allowed herself to be dragged away. Natsu turned his attention back to Zeref, who had taken a seat on the edge of the desk that Natsu had only just noticed.

"Now, for you two... Of course I want some payback, so... Perhaps shoot one of you in a vital place? That would be fun, but it does lack flair..."

Gray laughed darkly. "You've really got that whole 'villain monologue' thing down, huh?"

Zeref pointed the gun at him. "Don't make me shoot you. I'm trying to think here."

Gray rolled his eyes as Zeref went back to 'thinking'. Natsu could tell this was going to end badly, no matter what was decided upon...

* * *

Gray glanced over at Natsu, who was pale and shaking slightly, almost like a cat in a thunderstorm. He had a plan, of course, but Natsu wasn't aware of it, and he was probably terrified, thinking there was no way out of this. Which there wouldn't have been normally. But, thanks to Makarov, they had an out. All Ul had to do was rescue the prisoners and their plan would be perfect.

But he had to act quickly, while Zeref was distracted. Reaching slowly into his pocket, he pulled out the object Makarov had sent him to the armory to retrieve; a grenade. His fingers closed around it and he took a deep breath. He had to time this perfectly. He'd run all the calculations in his head, and he only had one try to get this perfect.

Here goes, he thought, and pulled the grenade from his pocket. He had pulled the ring out and tossed it before Zeref could full register what was happening. By then his finger was pulling the trigger on panic impulse, and Gray dove, the bullet lodging in the wall where he'd just been. He grabbed Natsu's hand and ran for the door, throwing it open and closing it right as a bullet struck it.

Then they were sprinting full speed down the hallway. About halfway to the stairwell, there was a blast that knocked them off their feet and blew dust all across the hallway. Gray's ears were ringing slightly, and he coughed from the heavy dust in the air. But he knew Zeref had had enough time to get out of the room, too, so he got to his feet, pulled Natsu up, and started running again.

When they were inside the stairwell, he locked the door and leaned against his knees for a second, gasping for air. Natsu stared at him like he was crazy. "Did you just set off _a grenade_?!"

Gray gave a weak smile. "Yep. Now we should probably start running."

Straightening, Gray started sprinting down the steps, practically throwing himself around the banisters, with Natsu at his heels. Smoke had crept into the stairwell from above, and Gray assumed something had caught on fire in the blast. He held the collar of his shirt over his mouth and nose and instructed Natsu to do the same.

On about the eighteenth floor, the door swung open, and Gray paused frantically, panicking because they were weaponless and defenseless. But then he saw Ultear, and let out a relieved sigh. Behind her followed Lyon, Michelle, and Rogue, and Gray gestured for them to go ahead of him, and soon they were all running down the stairs towards the first floor.

The smoke had cleared by then, so when they reached the door leading out into the first floor, Gray asked, "Anyone got any weapons?"

Ultear smirked and tossed both him and Natsu a pistol. "We knocked out the guards. Turns out they were all carrying a small arsenal, what good it did them."

Gray grinned and pulled back the slide, releasing the chamber round. "Everyone ready?"

There were nods from the group before Gray turned to the door. "Alright. Let's go in with heavy fire." And then he kicked open the door.

* * *

As soon as they were through, shots hit the walls and floor around them, and Natsu whipped up his pistol, systematically firing, hitting six guards, one right after another, using only one bullet to down each. By the time they made it to the center of the floor they were back to back in a rough circle, firing off in every direction.

A bullet grazed Natsu's side and he grunted, quickly taking down the guard that had shot at him. They were almost at the door now, and Natsu shot four more men before they were out on the street. Bullets rained from above, and before anyone else could react, Natsu snatched Gray's pistol and stepped out. He took a deep breath, remembering back to what his uncle Atlas had taught him about sharpshooting.

 _Step one; Focus._ Natsu narrowed his eyes. _Step two; Breath._ He took a deep breath through his nose. _Step three; Aim and fire._ Natsu's eyes found the snipers and he fired off two shots, one from each gun. The first snipers went down, and Natsu rotated counter-clockwise and fired two more shots, taking down the other two. There were only four left, and he did a somersault across hard asphalt to avoid two bullets before he fired off four quick shots.

The sound of gunfire silenced, and Natsu was left on one knee in the middle of bullet-riddled asphalt, breathing heavily. He stood and looked back at his five companions, who were looking at him, wide-eyed and open-mouthed. Gray was the first to break out of the spell, and stalked over, swiping his gun and clobbering Natsu on the back of the head. "Don't steal my gun!"

Natsu rubbed the back of his head and shot a glare at Gray. "Ow!"

"Let's go," Ultear broke in, walking between them and shoving them apart. "Before more of them come after us."

Grumbling under his breath, Natsu followed after her. After a while they fell into a comfortable rhythm, and Natsu listened to the silence around them, looking up at the night sky. It was full of stars, and he smiled faintly. His mother had loved the stars, and she had taught him all the constellations. Even now he could make out Orion and Pegasus, and he felt comforted knowing that the stars were the one thing that would never change, despite what happened to the world.

* * *

About a block from the Outpost, they ran into Lucy, and there was a tear-filled reunion before they started on their way again. The world was lit up brightly by the moon, and their way was calm and quiet, unbothered by Zs. Gray found the silence reassuring. Even if Zeref was alive, they had gotten their friends back, and Zeref knew nothing about the Outpost.

And he was sure Makarov would be doubling up the patrols, and increasing and thickening the defenses around the Outpost. Zeref would likely never be able to snatch any of them again. But that didn't necessarily put his worries to rest. Zeref was still a very large threat.

"Hey," Natsu said, making Gray jump, "did any of you guys get our packs on the way out?"

Ultear smirked. "Yep. Found 'em in a pile by the cells and grabbed 'em. Why?"

"I grabbed some stuff from the room I was in. Thought it might be useful."

"I'll give it to Makarov when we get back," Ultear said, and they lapsed into silence again.

* * *

When they reached the Outpost, Makarov was waiting at the gate for them, along with Wendy and Erza. Lucy quickly hugged Erza, and Makarov grinned and clapped many of them on the back. They were all rushed down the hallway, which was now silent.

After Ultear had given Makarov the packs and taken Lyon back to his room, and Erza, Lucy, and Michelle had disappeared, Gray headed for the infirmary with Rogue. Inside, Wendy was refreshing an IV bag beside Sting. She quickly hugged them both, and then left to get some food, leaving Gray to watch over her patients for a while.

Rogue quickly sat by Sting, gripping his hand like it was a lifeline, and Gray smiled slightly and sat down at Wendy's desk. He wasn't sure where Natsu had gone, but he wasn't sure he really wanted to find him. After the kiss...

Gray groaned and rested his head on the desk. _I can't believe I did that... He's probably freaked out now... Ugh! What am I supposed to do?!_

He closed his eyes and let out a sigh. _Maybe I'll just sleep at Lyon's or Ul's tonight..._

* * *

Natsu waited in Gray's apartment, sitting on the couch with his hands clasped in front of him and his head tilted back to stare at the ceiling. He wanted to confront him, but at the same time, he didn't. _But_ he _kissed_ me _, which must mean he likes me... Right...? He wouldn't have if he didn't... Would he?_

Closing his eyes, Natsu kicked off his shoes and curled up into a sleeping position. _Hopefully I fall asleep before he comes back... Maybe I can deal with this better after I've slept a bit._


	17. Confession

**A/N:** Here's the next chapter! I hope you all enjoy it, and continue leaving reviews, because they are much appreciated! (◠ω◠) Also, so sorry this chapter took so long to get out. I was being super lazy/busy (cause that makes sense) so it took me a while. Anyways, here ya go. (Also, for all the loyal followers of this story, go check out my new one, A Burning Heart, which is a little like this one. Lol, you'll just have to go check it out yourself XD)

* * *

 **Chapter Seventeen**

* * *

When Natsu woke in the morning, the first thing he heard was soft breathing that wasn't his own. He pushed himself to a sitting position and cracked his sore neck from side to side, wincing from the stiffness. Gray was asleep in his bed, his back facing the window.

It looked about six, the sun just beginning to show itself, mist creeping across the ground, and rays of sunlight catching in the hollow shells of old buildings and shards of glass littering the streets. The dead were roaming aimlessly again, and the fence they bumped into rattled ever so slightly in the wind.

Natsu sighed and hugged his legs to his chest, gazing out the window, which was fogged from the mist. Down in the guard stations on top of the fence, he could see two boys sitting in the chairs, their feet propped up on the edges of the wood, binoculars in their hands. Besides them, there were few people out this early.

One gardener was drawing water from dug-out well in the courtyard, and a few extra people were out walking the grounds, guns slung over their shoulders—probably Makarov's extra security, in case Zeref decided to attack them straight on.

The thought of Zeref made a shiver go down his spine, and Natsu pulled the discarded blanket back onto his lap. He thought back to what he'd said the night before. _You probably don't remember me, do you? After all, the light was shining in your eyes._

Natsu rested his chin on his knees and stared at the plain blue fabric of the couch armrest. _I remember it now... The nightmares were real. He was the one who was in that room... He was the one who..._

He shivered again and buried his face in his knees, suppressing the memories. _I need to take a walk..._

* * *

When Gray woke up, the first thing he noticed was that Natsu was not on the couch. He pulled himself out of bed, his heartbeat pounding in his ears. He took several deep breaths. Of course Natsu was fine. He probably just went to breakfast. He was being much too paranoid.

Swinging his legs over the edge of the bed, Gray went into the bathroom and washed his face. When he had changed into a fresh set of clothes, he exited his apartment and headed for the stairs. People were moving about, chatting an laughing normally. Gray guessed everyone was in high spirits after their victory the previous night.

Making his way through the throngs of people, Gray swiped two apples, sticking one in his pocket. He scanned the dining room for Natsu, but it was noticeably devoid of a spiky pink head. Frowning, Gray turned and headed back out into the hallway, looking out the windows.

"Gray?" Gray jumped and turned to see Erza giving him a strange look. "What are you doing out here?"

"Oh, Erza, hey. I was, uh, looking for Natsu. Have you seen him around?"

Erza nodded. "I saw him leaving earlier, but..." She frowned. "I thought you were with him, and the two of you were going out on a mission."

Gray cursed under his breath. "Thanks, Erza. I gotta go." He turned right and slammed through the door out into the chill morning air, headed for the gates. When he was about three feet from them, however, they opened, and Natsu walked through, tucking his ID card in his jeans pocket.

Gray glared at him, grabbing him by the collar and, ignoring his protests, dragged him through the doors and into the closest closet. "What the _hell_ , Natsu?!" he demanded, slamming him back against the wall and knocking over a row of brooms.

Natsu gave him a blank look. "What? Why are you so mad?"

"Why am I mad?!" Gray exploded, throwing his hands up in the air. "We only _just_ made it back from that tower last night, and you and I both know that Zeref is still a very real, very _big_ threat, and you just decide to go out by yourself? What were you even _doing_ out there?!"

"I just... needed to blow off some steam," Natsu said, his eyes downcast. Gray paused when he heard the underlying pain and fear in Natsu's tone, and he quickly grabbed the other boy by the shoulders, scanning him over. "What's wrong? You're not hurt, are you?"

Natsu shook his head. "I'm fine. I just... had to shoot a few. I'm a lot better now."

Gray stood back and looked at him, judging his expression to see if he was telling the truth. Finally, he sighed. "Okay. Okay," he said again. "How many did you get?"

"Sixty," Natsu said quietly, and Gray's eyes almost popped out of their sockets. "Jesus. How long were you out there?"

"Not long," Natsu replied evenly. "They were all just... lined up."

Gray sighed again. "Okay. Well, have you eaten anything?"

Natsu shook his head, and Gray pulled open the closet door and started walking. He reached in his pocket and tossed Natsu the apple over his shoulder before turning to look at him. "I ate already, so you go get something, and then come meet me in my apartment." He looked back to the front, and when Natsu didn't move away, he added, "We need to talk."

* * *

Natsu walked up the stairs clutching the hem of his shirt tightly. He had eaten and was now heading to Gray's apartment, but his stomach was a mess of nerves. Of course he knew they had to talk about it at some point, but that didn't stop the butterflies from taking flight in his stomach.

He made his way up the stairs slowly, trying to buy himself enough time to buck up and stop the shaking of his hands. He reached Gray's apartment all too soon, however, and found himself standing in front of the door, waiting. He took a deep breath. Another. _Okay. I can do this. Reach out and knock._

He did as he had instructed himself and knocked twice, taking deep, even breaths, which did little to stop the hammering in his heart. Gray answered a few seconds later, and Natsu forced himself to meet his eyes. They were as blue as ever, and stray, wavy locks of raven hair hung in front of them, and Natsu wanted to brush them back and— _Dammit. This is_ not _going well._

Gray stepped back and let Natsu past him before closing the door again, leaving them alone. Natsu stood by the couch, too nervous to sit but not nervous enough to pace. Gray stayed by the door, leaning against it with his arms crossed.

"So," he said after a few tense minutes of silence, "if you're not going to say anything, I am. I'm really sorry about, you know... the kiss. We were all in danger and I was really panicked, and it was in the heat of the moment—I mean, _not_ in the heat of the moment, but it was done quickly, and, well, er..." He was stammering and blushing, and Natsu thought the combination looked quite good on him.

"It's fine," he said before Gray could babble any more (even thought it was rather cute.) "Good, actually."

"F-fine?" Gray stammered. "G-g-good?"

"Fine," Natsu confirmed with a shake of his head. "Good."

They looked at each other for several seconds. Natsu took a deep breath. "Gray, what am I to you?"

* * *

The question echoed in Gray's mind for several seconds. _What am I to you?_ He blinked. "You... That is, you're..." He ran a hand through his hair, cursing his inability to get his words out the way he wanted to. Looking at the ground, he clenched his fists. "You... You mean a lot to me," he said finally. Natsu was quiet.

"When you get hurt, I... worry about you a lot. Being around you makes me feel crazy, and happy, and mad, and angry all at once, and I never know what to think or say, and it drives me absolutely _insane_ , but, at the same time, I just want to be closer to you..."

He growled and tugged a hand through his hair again. "I don't know exactly what you are to me, but I do know a few things. I know that if you were hurt, I would go to the ends of the earth to hunt down whoever did it. I know that being without you feels like I'm missing a piece of myself."

"Gray," Natsu said quietly.

"I know that I have strong feelings for you. I know that the world would be a darker place if you were gone."

"Gray, stop," Natsu said, resting a hand on his shoulder. He smiled. "I've heard more than enough."

They were so close, Gray would only have to move forward an inch and their lips would touch. His mind was spinning and his heart was racing a mile a minute. Natsu grasped Gray's hands tightly in his own. "Whoa," he said, swinging his arm—and Gray's in turn—out to the side. "Your hands are really cold, Gray."

Gray laughed. "Idiot." He grabbed Natsu and pulled him into a tight hug. He rested his chin on the top of Natsu's head and closed his eyes. "You're so warm..." he sighed out, and it was true. Being this close to Natsu made Gray feel like he was standing in front of a fireplace, warming his hands above the flames. He buried his nose in Natsu's hair and inhaled his campfirey scent. Being this close to him was like a dream, after so long of keeping himself at a distance.

With Natsu's arms wrapped around him, Gray felt like he was surrounded by warmth.

"Does this mean you're my boyfriend now?" Natsu asked teasingly against his shoulder.

Gray smiled. "Maybe, if you're lucky. But I don't _quite_ recall you asking me."

Natsu rolled his eyes and pulled back slightly to look Gray in the eyes. "Fine, Ice Princess." He smiled, sending butterflies skittering in Gray's stomach. "Will you be my boyfriend?"

Gray answered by pulling him close again. "I thought you'd never ask," he whispered in his ear, and for a while they stayed like that, pressed together in the center of Gray's apartment, simply holding each other.

* * *

About an hour later they were snuggling on the couch, Natsu curled up in front of Gray like a kitten, resting in his arms. Their legs were tangled together, and Gray absently messed with a strand of Natsu's sakura hair. He had to wonder, no matter how ridiculous it was, if his hair really _was_ naturally pink. Normally people who dyed their hair had thick, course strands, but Natsu's hair was silky soft, and Gray could run his fingers through it for hours and never get tired of the feeling.

Natsu looked up at him and smiled that toothy grin of his, and Gray almost died from how adorable he looked. He bent down to kiss the tip of Natsu's nose, making the boy blush. "Wha-what was that for?" he stuttered.

Gray grinned. "You're just too cute."

Natsu's face burned a brighter red and he buried his face in Gray's shoulder. "Shut up. I am _not_ cute..."

Gray only chuckled, closing his eyes with a yawn.

"Tired?" Natsu asked. Gray nodded. "A bit."

Natsu smiled. "I can go if you want to sleep."

Gray shook his head. "No, I can't sleep now or I won't be able to tonight. Actually, we should probably go downstairs. Gramps probably wants to give us some work."

"Yeah," Natsu sighed. "You're right. But... I'm a little nervous."

"Nervous?" Gray asked, peering down at him. "Why?"

"Because." Natsu fiddled with the hem of his shirt nervously. "I know your brother doesn't like me very much, and I haven't even _met_ your sister, and what will they think if we tell them that we're, ya know..." Gray pressed a finger to his lips, silencing his nervous rambling. "We can wait to tell everyone, if you want. But I'm sure they'd be fine with it. And, actually, my siblings are very... fond of you."

"Really?" Natsu asked, grinning. Gray nodded. "Yep. They actually were egging me on to ask you out... It was very annoying."

"Well, it all worked out in the end, right?"

'Ri—" Suddenly, someone banged on the door.

"Gray, it's fucking _twelve o'clock_. What the hell are you doing? You better not be asleep in there!" It was Lyon, and Gray's eyelid ticked in irritation.

He untangled himself from Natsu. "Look natural," he said, and Natsu quickly righted himself, snatched a magazine, and flipped it open. Gray answered the door, glaring at his brother. "What the hell do you want, Lyon?"

Lyon's eyes shot past him to Natsu, and a sly smirk appeared on his face. Gray quirked an eyebrow in irritation. "Oh, sorry," Lyon said. "I didn't realize you two had finally started screwing."

Gray shoved him angrily, blushing. "Shut the fuck up, Lyon. We were just talking."

"Oh, _realllly_?" Lyon's smirk grew. "Then why is Natsu reading that magazine upside down?"

Gray face-palmed. _Fucking Natsu..._ "Because he's an idiot."

"Mmhmm, sure," Lyon said, his voice heavy with sarcasm. "Anyway, Makarov wants you both downstairs. He needs Natsu in the infirmary and you in the armory."

"I thought I wasn't allowed in the armory," Gray said, raising an eyebrow. "Y'know, after _last time_."

Lyon shuddered slightly. "Ugh, don't remind me... Anyway, it's only because they're short on hands. He needs you to help make bullets."

Gray sighed. 'Fine. We'll be down in a few."

Lyon left, and Gray shut the door with another sigh, sagging against the door. "Have I mentioned how much I _hate_ being related to him?"

Natsu laughed, setting down his magazine. "Let's go, Ice Princess."

As they walked down the stairs, Natsu asked, "What happened with you and the armory, anyway?"

Gray shuddered. "Trust me, you do _not_ want to know."

* * *

 **A/N:** FINALLY THE CONFESSION HAPPENED. YOU GUYS BETTER FREAKING LOVE ME NOW!


	18. The Arrival Of A Stranger

**A/N:** Here's the next chapter, and a huge thanks to those who keep reviewing the story. Love you all! 3

* * *

 **Chapter Eighteen**

* * *

When Gray was finished working in the armory, it was nearing four, so he decided to slack off with Lucy in the kitchens for a while. Or, he tried to, at least. Makarov caught him in the hallway and sent him off to work again, this time in the greenhouses. The greenhouses were just small glass boxes lined up on the roof of the hotel, the floor pulled up, the inside lined with plastic, and the holes filled up with dirt to make a natural garden bed.

It was quite ingenious, really, and Gray gave props to Makarov for thinking of it.

He made his way to the top floor and ducked into greenhouse A, where the cucumbers, tomatoes, and carrots were housed. There were few people at work; Kagura was picking carrots from the dirt, her hair tied back in a red handkerchief, and across from her, Sherria was watering the tomatoes. That left Gray to the cucumbers, and he sighed and grabbed one of the baskets stacked against the wall, kneeling beside the trellis the plants were growing on.

The work was boring, but there was one good thing about working in the greenhouses, and that was the smell. The scents of the things growing were fresh and earthy, and the sun on the dirt gave off a strange sunshiney scent. Also, just the feeling of the repetitive motion of pick, twist, drop, twist, repeat was soothing, and the feeling of being productive was also soothing, in a way.

Before long, Gray's basket was filled, so he stood to bring it down to the kitchens for cleaning, preserving, and canning. The halls were mostly empty, save for the occasional soldier or gardener on their way to grab more water from the well. Gray sighed and pushed his way past the kitchen doors, dropping his basket off with Lucy before turning to head back out. He didn't have to do any more work in the greenhouse, so he figured he would find Natsu, grab a job, and go out. After all, he hadn't been out in a while, and he was itching for some action.

* * *

Around five, Natsu finally got done with his work In the infirmary. It had been a pretty busy day, with six cuts and one broken bone, so both he and Wendy were glad for the break. Wendy collapsed at her desk with a relieved sigh, and gave Natsu a smile. "You can go, if you want."

Natsu looked at the doorway guiltily. "Are you sure?"

Wendy nodded and rolled her eyes. "Go. But be back tomorrow at twelve. I need my assistant." She said the last part teasingly, and Natsu grinned at her on his way out, giving a small half-wave.

He wasn't sure what to do, and he contemplated heading to the kitchens to see if Lucy needed any help, but then he caught sight of Gray exiting the mission room with a paper in his hand. When he caught Natsu's eye, he pointed at Natsu, then the paper, then the floor in front of him. Natsu grinned and jogged over. "I got us a job," Gray said, showing Natsu the paper. "It's a tough one, too."

Natsu grinned. "You, me, killing zombies? Why, Gray, are you asking me out on a date?"

Gray rolled his eyes and walked past Natsu, tossing him his rifle. "Shut up. I grabbed your gun, I got mine; you better be ready to kill stuff."

* * *

About five minutes later they were out the gates and walking down the street. Natsu was flipping a pistol around his finger, his rifle strapped across his back and his eyes roaming the streets around them. Gray raised an eyebrow. " _Tell me_ you have the safety on."

Natsu stopped spinning it to look at the gun's side. "Yep, it's on."

"The fact that you had to check worries me," Gray said, giving him an amused look. Natsu grinned and stepped closer, nudging Gray's shoulder with his own. "Oh, relax, Ice Princess. I was just messing with you."

"So you knew the safety was on?"

"Uh... yeah," Natsu said, blushing. "Totally. Yep."

Gray rolled his eyes but hit Natsu's shoulder back with his own. "You're gonna send me to an early grave, I have the feeling."

They walked on, and Gray stopped and pointed to the top of a tall building in the distance. "You think you could snipe something there"—he moved his finger to point at a building diagnol to the first one—"from there?"

Natsu made an amused sound. "From _there_? I could shoot anything in a ten mile radius."

Gray grinned. "Good. I want to see you in action."

They made their way through the street and up to the top of the building, and Gray watched as Natsu pulled his sniper riffle off his shoulder and set it up against the edge of the roof, screwing on the scope and laying himself out flat on his stomach. He squeezed one eye closed and lowered the other one to the scope. "The targets are in that building, right?" he asked, pointing. Gray nodded.

Natsu took a deep breath and maneuvered the gun so it was pointed in the right direction. "Okay, I see them." He took another deep breath, and waited for several seconds. Then, finally, he fired a single shot, and it whizzed through the air and the broken window. Gray squinted. He could faintly see a crumpled body, but there had been six Zs, and now only two stood. Surely he hadn't taken out four with a single shot?

Natsu looked back up at him. "There's two left, Wanna try your hand at sniping?"

Gray shrugged. "Sure. What do I have to do?"

"First of all, get down here."

Gray got on the ground and mirrored Natsu's position, military crawling forward until he was beside Natsu. Natsu pushed the gun along the roof so the scope was level with Gray's eye and scooted closer, so their sides were pressed together. "Okay, the first thing my uncle taught me was to remember to breathe. Your shot will be uneven if you don't breathe."

Gray nodded and took a deep breath. "Good, now close one eye, and focus the other on the target using the scope."

Letting his field of vision narrow to the single point the scope offered, Gray directed the scope to the zombie's forehead. "Now, whenever you're ready, press the trigger and let the gun do the work."

Not wanting to be upstaged, Gray waited for one zombie to shuffle behind the other, so their heads lined up. Releasing his breath, Gray pulled the trigger. The shot rang out and Gray saw the bullet rip through the skull of one Z, and then the other, downing them both.

"Aw, yeah," he said with a grin, looking over at Natsu. "I got them both!"

Natsu laughed. "Good job. You're actually pretty good."

"Maybe I just have a good teacher," Gray said with a smile, and then they were kissing, up on a rooftop fifteen stories up, surrounded by a desolate landscape crawling with the living dead.

* * *

When they got back, towing the loot they got from the cleared building, it was dinnertime, so they dropped all their stuff off in Gray's apartment before heading back downstairs. The dining hall was full of people, and as soon as they got their food, they sat down at a vacant table in the corner.

"You know," Gray said, "I think this is the first time we've really eaten together."

Natsu frowned. "Yeah, I guess it is." He took a bite of the apple he held and sighed. "Man, I'm tired..."

Gray frowned. "Why? Did you not get enough sleep?"

"No, I'm fine," Natsu said quickly, looking away. Gray narrowed his eyes, but didn't press him.

They continued eating, and Natsu's eyes wandered the cafeteria. Gray watched his irises flash golden as the light caught them, seeming to coalesce and shine for a second before they flashed back to their typical olive green. Gray was transfixed by them. He still wasn't entirely sure if they were all one color. The longer he looked at Natsu, the deeper he fell in love with him.

* * *

Natsu finished his food and sat back with a sigh, focusing his eyes back on Gray. His eyes really were a lovely shade of blue; like a deep cloudless sky, only darker. Maybe like ocean waves at night. And his hair. God, he couldn't even start on his hair. It was so black it made him think of a starless night sky, and it swept across his forehead in spikes and peaks.

That was when he knew for sure that he really had fallen for Gray.

Natsu smiled to himself and glanced out the window.

The sky was dusted with dark gray clouds, and it looked like it would start raining at any second. A bolt of lightning streaked across the sky, confirming Natsu's suspicions. A moment after the first thunder clap, the skies opened up and the rains poured free from the sky, streaking down the windows in fat drops. Natsu found the rain soothing, and he closed his eyes to listen to the sound of the rain against the windows, and the claps of thunder that shook the room every other second.

He opened his eyes and looked out the window again, tracing the raindrops with his eyes. Something beyond caught his eye, though, and he squinted out the window, standing slightly. A man was walking towards the gate, the peaked hood of a long black coat covering his head and a gun strapped across his back. Natsu stood all the way up now, a spike of fear flitting through him. "Gray, there's someone at the gate."

Gray stood up beside him and peered out the window, his face growing pale when he too caught sight of the man outside the gate. He ducked out from the table and made a beeline for the door, and Natsu followed behind helplessly. Makarov met them at the doors and they pushed out into the rain, their clothes immediately becoming soaked through. Natsu pulled the hood of his sweatshirt above his head and slightly over his eyes, shivering.

At the gate, Makarov stopped and peered through at the strange man. "State your business," he called out, and the man tilted his head up slightly, his face still hidden behind the peaked hood of his coat. "I seek temporary shelter," the man called. 'And this is the Outpost, is it not? Aren't all hunters allowed here?"

"Normally that's true," Makarov said. "But we've had... _special_ circumstances these past few weeks. But we _will_ allow you entrance, if you hand over your weapons first."

"Of course," the stranger said, pulling his rifle over his shoulder. Natsu's eyes narrowed at the weapon. It looked familiar somehow, and paired with the man's voice... Natsu kept getting the feeling that he knew the guy.

The stranger passed his gun through the gates, and Makarov snatched it and stepped back. "Open the gates, but keep your guns ready."

The men manning the gates pulled them open, and Gray, Makarov, and the rest held wary fingers over the triggers of their guns. The gates were closed behind him, and the stranger was searched for concealed weapons. He was clean, so Makarov led him towards the door, and Natsu followed, along with Gray. When they were inside, Makarov handed the man's gun to Gray and turned around to face him. "Sorry, but I don't suppose you would mind taking that hood off and showing us your face?"

"Of course," the man said, reaching for his hood. When he flipped it back, Natsu gasped. " _Uncle Atlas_?"

"Natsu?" Atlas asked, and Natsu pulled back his hood with a grin. "Natsu!"

They embraced, and Natsu hugged his uncle tightly. "Thank the gods you survived," Atlas said, pulling back with a grin of his own and clapping Natsu on the shoulder. "Igneel, is he...?"

Natsu's smile faded, and he looked away, shaking his head and swallowing back his sadness. Atlas' onyx eyes turned sad. "Ah, that's a shame. Although, my brother never _was_ the tough type..."

Natsu looked back up at Atlas and the grin crept back onto his face. He hugged his uncle again, burying his face in his shoulder. "I missed you, Uncle Atlas."

Atlas laughed. "It's been too long, hasn't it? Although I wish we could've had our reunion under different circumstances."

'Oh, that reminds me," Natsu said, pulling back. "How did you get here, anyway? You live pretty far away, and with no working cars..."

"Ah, that's why it took me so long to get here," Atlas said with a wry smile. "I walked."

"Okay, I hate to interrupt this family reunion," Gray broke in, "but this is your _uncle_?"

"Yep," Natsu said, standing shoulder-to-shoulder with his uncle, who was about two heads taller. "Everyone, I'd like you to meet my uncle, Atlas Dragneel."

* * *

 **A/N:** Ooh, developments! XD (Sorry for any typos, guys. I'm writing on my new laptop right now, and I'm still getting used to the keyboard.)


	19. Rainy Days

**A/N:** Here's the next chapter, and after last time's cliffhanger, I'll try not to do that again, but I can't make any promises ;)

* * *

 **Chapter Nineteen**

* * *

After Natsu's declaration, the guns were lowered, and Atlas was escorted to the dining room for some food. Gray followed after, still shell-shocked. Natsu had mentioned an uncle before, when they were on the roof. He'd said his uncle taught him how to shoot, and judging on how good Natsu was, Gray guessed this Atlas was a thousand times better.

They sat back down at their corner table and Gray studied Atlas carefully. He could see the resemblance between him and Natsu in the color of his eyes and his facial structure. In fact, there was little difference between them, except Atlas' hair was a dark maroon red, and he was much taller than Natsu, though equally as lanky. But seeing Natsu so happy was the best part of Atlas' arrival. His eyes were lit up, and he smiled and chatted freely with his uncle.

Gray rested his head in his hand and tuned in to their conversation.

"So how was it over in the east?" Natsu asked Atlas. "I heard it was pretty bad, in the beginning."

Atlas shrugged. "It wasn't as bad as other places. Along the way I ran into places with much worse conditions."

Natsu grinned. "I bet it wasn't too much for _you_. You're the best sniper in the world!"

"I wouldn't say the _world_ ,' Atlas said with a chuckle, ruffling Natsu's hair. "But thanks, kid. If I'm the best, you're second best."

"Well, I don't know," Natsu said with a smirk. "Maybe I've passed you up by now, old man. We haven't had a shoot-off in a while."

"You guys had _shoot-offs_?" Gray asked, raising an eyebrow.

Atlas looked up at him. "Oh, almost forgot. What's your name, kid?"

"Gray."

"Well, Gray, nice to meet you." He shook Gray's hand with a smile. "And yes, we did used to have shoot-offs. It scared the hell out of his dad, of course," he said, jerking a thumb at Natsu. A nostalgic smile crept over his face, and Gray wanted to reach out and squeeze his hand, but held back as his uncle wrapped an arm around his shoulder. "Maybe we can arrange one, if you plan on backin' up your smack-talk, kid."

"Whenever, wherever," Natsu answered confidently, drawing a small smile from Gray. Natsu's antics really were adorable.

* * *

After dinner, Natsu took Atlas to his apartment, while Gray went to his. Natsu's apartment was still empty, save for a twin bed and an empty desk without a chair. "You can sleep here," Natsu said, gesturing at the bed. "I've been staying with... a friend."

Atlas grinned, setting his stuff on the desk. "Oh, I see. Get yourself a girlfriend while you were here, kid?"

Natsu snickered and looked to the side. "Yeah, not exactly."

Shrugging, Atlas collapsed on the bed with a sigh. "Man, it's been too long since I've slept in a bed. Maybe I should stick around here."

"You should," Natsu said, ducking back towards the door. "Anyway, breakfast is six to eight, lunch is eleven to twelve, and dinner is seven to nine."

Atlas waved him off. "I got it. See you tomorrow, kid."

Natsu smiled as he closed the door. "See you tomorrow, Uncle Atlas."

He started down the hallway and jogged down the stairs, heading for Gray's apartment. Outside, the rain was still coming down heavily, and Natsu wondered how long it would last. He stopped in front of Gray's door and knocked. _I should really ask for a key._

Within a minute, Gray opened the door and gazed out at him. "You're not staying with your uncle?" he asked, stepping back to let Natsu through.

"Nope. I've only got a twin bed and no couch, so that leaves this," Natsu replied, collapsing back on the couch.

"Still sleeping on the couch?" Gray teased, sitting down beside him. Natsu kicked off his shoes and rested his feet on the coffee table. "Yep. I wouldn't want to move too fast."

Gray smiled at him. "You really _are_ cute, Natsu."

"Shut up," Natsu said, kicking him. Gray moved closer and wrapped an arm around him. For a while they just sat there, and Natsu looked out the window and watched the rain. "How long do you think this'll keep up?" he asked. "Not that I mind, but it just seems weird. I haven't ever seen rain so heavy in a long time. And usually it's only this rough for a little, but it hasn't let up at all since it started. If anything, it's raining even harder now."

Gray shrugged. "Dunno. But it's a good thing. Gets us lots of fresh water, right?"

"Right," Natsu amended. He rested his head on Gray's shoulder and let himself relax. He was happier than he ever had been, with his uncle there with him, walls protecting him, and Gray beside him. He yawned, finally letting fatigue overtake him, and closed his eyes. Gray's lips brushed the top of his head. "Goodnight, Natsu."

"Goodnight, Gray."

* * *

A clap of thunder jerked Natsu awake, and he sat there breathing heavily for a moment, his nightmare still fresh in his mind. There was a blanket covering him, and he could hear the rain pounding against the windows and the thunder booming outside. The sun was just beginning to rise, half-drowned by dark rain clouds.

Natsu pushed himself to a sitting position and ran his hands through his hair, taking a deep breath and trying to calm his racing heart.

It couldn't have been more then five or six, too early to get up, but too late to go back to sleep. Not that he particularly _wanted_ to go back to sleep, considering he'd only have another nightmare. In fact, ever since the nightmares started, there'd only been one night when he hadn't had them. He just wished he could sleep without exhausting himself. Even now, he felt fatigue hanging heavily over him like a blanket. Sleep was useless to him if his muscles were tensed every time he slept.

Natsu stood, meaning to go out and take a walk around the Outpost to clear his head, but his foot got caught in his blanket and he tripped and face-planted on the carpet. "Ow..."

"Natsu...?" Gray asked sleepily, and Natsu groaned and pushed himself up to a sitting position. "Yeah, I tripped," he said, unlooping his ankle with a sigh.

Gray pushed himself up with one hand and looked over at him. "Why are you up, anyway?"

Natsu pulled himself onto the couch. "I just woke up early, is all."

"It's still raining?" Gray asked, peering out the window. Natsu nodded. "Yeah. Weird, huh?"

Gray swung his legs over the side of the bed and walked over to the window, resting one hand on the sill and gazing out at the rain. "We can go downstairs, if you want. The rec room should be open."

"There's a rec room?" Natsu asked, surprised.

"Yep," Gray said with a grin. "C'mon, I'll show you."

* * *

The rec room was in the corner of the first floor, and it held three bookshelves, clumps of sofas and chairs, circled around tables spaced evenly around the room. There was a fireplace in the back of the room, but it was empty now, useless in the summer heat. There were shelves stacked with board-games in the corner, and even some beanbag chairs.

Gray spread his arms and turned around to grin at Natsu. "So, what do you think?"

Natsu's eyes were wide, and Gray found his awed expression adorable as he said, "Whoa. This place is _awesome_. The old man set this up?"

Gray nodded. "Yep. Since a lot of the Outpost's members are teens, Makarov put this place together for us."

"Cool," Natsu said, fingering a deck of cards. He looked back at Gray. "Wanna play?"

Gray smirked. "You're on, Ten."

They set up at a table and Gray raised an eyebrow. "What're we playing?"

Natsu shrugged. "What do you want to play?"

"Strip poker?" Gray suggested with a grin. Natsu rolled his eyes and smacked him on the shoulder. "Ha ha. Really, what do you know how to play?"

"Um, Garbage?" Gray said, shrugging. "Blackjack?"

Natsu grinned. "Blackjack."

* * *

"Oh, _what_!" Natsu groaned, leaning back in his chair. "You won _again_?!"

Gray held up his hands with a smirk. "Sorry, Natsu. I think you just have terrible luck."

"Natsu, Gray, I thought you two might be in here," Erza said, poking her head around the doorway. "It's time for breakfast."

"Thanks, Erza," Gray said, shuffling the cards before sticking them back in their cardboard box. "We're done, anyway."

"Not for long," Natsu said as they started walking towards the cafeteria. "I want a rematch."

"Sure thing, but I doubt your luck will change any time soon."

"Shut up," Natsu said with a scowl. "I'll get you next time for sure."

"You tell yourself that," Gray said with a smirk. They entered the cafeteria and sat down at an empty table. The rain was still beating heavily against the windows, and lightning streaked across the sky in bright white spurs of light, followed closely by loud claps of thunder. Gray chewed on an apple and watched the rain streaking down the glass, and the flashes of blurred light that lit up the room every few seconds.

"This rain is some serious shit," Lyon said next to Gray's ear, making him jump. He spun around angrily and gave his brother a harsh glare. "You scared the hell out of me, Lyon!" he said, shoving him. Lyon rolled his eyes and sat down beside Gray, taking a bite of the pear he held. "Don't be a pansy, Gray."

"I'm not!" Gray took a deep breath to avoid shooting Lyon in the skull and took another bite of apple. "It's just rain, Lyon. It's not the end of the world."

'No, you're right. That already happened," Lyon said with a smirk.

Just then, Atlas walked in, and the whole room fell silent. "Who's he?" Lyon asked, raising an eyebrow. Gray was about to answer when Natsu stood up and waved at him. "Atlas! Over here!"

Everyone's eyes locked on to Natsu as Atlas walked over and sat down next to them, and Lyon shot a questioning glance at Gray, a hand resting on his strapped gun. Gray rolled his eyes. "Lyon, this is Natsu's uncle, Atlas. Atlas, this is my brother, Lyon."

Lyon shook Atlas' hand, but Gray could see the distrust in his eyes. The room was still silent, and Gray glanced around at everyone staring at them. Atlas picked up an apple and started eating, and slowly the old buzz of the cafeteria came back as the side conversations started up again. For a while they just ate in silence, the rain coming down heavily outside, and thunder shaking the walls of the Outpost.

"So, you kids got jobs around here, right?" Atlas asked, glancing around at all three of them.

It was Gray who answered. "Yeah, we do. You'll have to talk to Makarov first, though."

Atlas shrugged. "Fine by me. In fact, I'll go now, if one of you can point me in the right direction."

"Down the hall to the right three doors," Gray said. Atlas stood, gave a wave around, and walked out.

Lyon immediately asked, "Okay, wait, that's Natsu's _uncle_?"

"Yep," Gray sighed out. "Although, I hardly know anything about him."

Natsu shrugged. "There's not much to tell. I hung out with him a lot when I was a kid. He's the one that taught me how to snipe. He used to be in the military, way back when. Had a kill count of five hundred."

"That's... impossible," Gray said.

"That's _awesome_ ," Lyon said at the same time.

Natsu sighed. "Yep. Pretty awesome."

* * *

After breakfast, they were on their way back to Gray's apartment when Atlas snagged them both by the collar. "Hey, kid," he said to Natsu, "how would you like to have that shoot-out. Your friend can come too."

Natsu grinned. "You're on, old man."

* * *

Atlas took them to a rooftop a block from the Outpost, and they lay themselves out across the edge of the slick roof, the rain pouring down around them. The building across from them was awash with Zs, shambling past the windows with their limpy, dragging walk. They were even lined up on the roof of the building, trapped behind a chain-link fence lining the circumference of the roof.

Natsu and Atlas set up their sniper rifles and Gray stood back and watched them with his arms crossed.

"Whoever shoots the most wins," Atlas said, locking his scope in place. "You better still have that sharp eye, kid."

"You'll see, won't you?" Natsu asked, securing his own scope.

"I guess I will. We'll start shooting on three. One." Natsu closed one eye and lowered his eye to the scope. "Two." He took a deep breath and set his sights on the first zombie. "Thr—" Atlas was cut off by a myriad of shots, and he looked over at Natsu and smacked him on the shoulder. "I said _three_ , kid, no two and a half!"

"That wasn't me!" Natsu protested, rubbing his shoulder and glaring at his uncle.

"Then who—"

Gray hit the ground and crawled up beside Natsu. "Let me see your scope." Natsu scooted aside and Gray pressed his eye to the lens, peering through it. Beside him, Atlas did the same. Gray's eye found a pair of legs, and he swept the scope up, his breath leaving him when he saw the face.

"Who is that?" Atlas asked beside him, and Gray took a deep breath. "It's Zeref. He's... alive."

* * *

 **A/N:** Oops. My fingers slipped. :)


	20. Taking A Toll

**A/N:** Chapter twenty is finally here, and I'll be branching off that little cliffy I left you guys with, because ily all ❤ (A bit short, sorry ❤)

* * *

 **Chapter Twenty**

* * *

Everyone was silent on the way back to the Outpost, and the rain kept the mood somber and slightly depressing, in Gray's opinion. Natsu's eyes were downcast, and he seemed curled in on himself. It was worrying, and Gray kept glancing over at him, but Natsu wouldn't meet his eyes.

The streets were oddly quiet, as they had been the past week, and the rain was still coming down heavy, beating against the windows and the street like sharp shards of glass. The wind howled like an angry wolf, throwing the rain against them with a vice.

Eventually it drove them to a half-run, and the gates were in sight within a minute.

Gray quickly flashed his card at the guards, who opened the gate and let them through. They ran to the door and into the warm safety of the Outpost, stopping to catch their breath, their clothes dripping water in a constant _drip drip drip_ against the marble floor.

"Well," Atlas said eventually, straightening. "That was fun."

* * *

They parted ways, Atlas heading back to Natsu's apartment while Natsu followed Gray to his. They left a trail of water all up the stairs and down the hallway, and when they were finally in Gray's apartment, they wrung out their clothes and shook the water out of their shoes, splattering the floor and walls with large drops of water.

Gray walked over to the dresser and pulled out some clothes. Natsu had a few clothes thrown in, most of them stolen from stores, and Gray tossed him a clean set of clothes. "You can use the bathroom to change."

Natsu nodded wordlessly, and stepped into the bathroom. Gray changed quickly and collapsed down on the couch with a sigh. His hair was still dripping water on the floor and the couch, and his clothes stuck to his clammy skin. He rested his feet on the coffee table and let his head fall back.

He was worried about Natsu. He knew that seeing Zeref probably brought back some unwanted memories, and he wasn't sure if Natsu was ready to deal with them yet. And the fact that Zeref was alive was troubling, to say the least. Of course, half of him had hoped that Zeref had survived just so he could kick the shit out of him himself, but he supposed thinking like that was stupid.

Zeref alive was a very big problem, for all of them.

* * *

Natsu stared at his reflection in the mirror. His pink hair was dripping wet and stuck up in odd places, like cowlicks. There were dark purple strokes under his eyes, like someone had taken a paintrbrush and swiped it under each one. His once tan skin was starting to look paler, and his face had become slimmer, his cheekbones more defined.

He sighed and ran a hand through his hair. The clothes Gray had given him were warm and dry, but they stuck to his skin a bit, which was still damp from the rain. Sighing again, he stepped out and stopped briefly to gaze out the window at the storm, which was still going strong.

He looked to the right to see Gray sitting on the couch, his eyes closed and his legs sprawled out on the table, his head lolling to the side. Natsu thought he was asleep, but then he opened his eyes a bit and raised a hand to wave lazily at him. "C'mere, Natsu."

Natsu smiled a bit at that, shoving his memories and pain aside and walking over to sit beside him. Gray pulled him closer and rested his head on his shoulder. "I'm sorry about, y'know, Zeref..." He grabbed Natsu's hand and squeezed, as if offering comfort.

Smiling weakly, Natsu squeezed his hand back. "That's okay, Gray. It wasn't your fault he lived."

Gray straightened to a sitting position and looked him in the eye. "Don't worry, Natsu. I promise you I'll kill him. He'll never hurt you again. Never."

* * *

About an hour later, Gray had left to go tell Makarov about Zeref, leaving Natsu to his thoughts. Unfortunately, he couldn't make here nor there of his thoughts, so he decided to go find his uncle. It turned out not to be that hard, considering Atlas was just hanging around in Natsu's apartment, cleaning his sniper rifle.

"Oh, hey kid," he said when Natsu walked in. "What's up?"

"Just wondering if you wanted to play cards or something," Natsu replied, leaning against the door with his hands in the pockets of his jeans. Atlas set down his cleaning rag and grinned. "Oh, you're on, kid." He hopped to his feet. "I hope you got better at poker since we last played."

Natsu shrugged as they headed out towards the stairs. "I guess you'll find out, old man."

They made their way to the rec room and set up their game at one of the tables, using bullets as chips. Natsu glanced up at Atlas as he shuffled the cards, biting his lip. Atlas flicked his eyes up briefly before turning his attention back to the deck.

"I know that look," he said. "What's wrong, kid?"

"Well, I'm feeling a little conflicted about something," Natsu said carefully, deciding not to reveal the whole truth. Atlas nodded. "Since we're on the subject of poker, I've got some advice for ya."

"What?" Natsu asked, leaning forward intently.

"Life is like a game of poker, kid," Atlas said, cutting the deck with one hand. "There's always four choices. Fold, by giving up." He bridged the cards. "Call, by giving minimal effort. Bluff, by ignoring the problem." He dealt out their hand. "Or go all-in, by giving it your all."

"But," Natsu said, brows furrowed, "in poker there's always stakes? What're the stakes in life?"

"There's always stakes, boy. Your life, the lives of your family and friends, your happiness, your safety; there's always something."

For a while Natsu stayed silent, staring at the table with his brows furrowed. Finally, he nodded, and picked up his cards. "Yeah. Thanks, Uncle Atlas."

"No problem, kid. Now let's start."

* * *

Gray returned to the apartment after talking to Makarov feeling slightly crestfallen. Makarov had only said to give him a few days to come up with a plan, which left Gray stuck in a wary mood for however long he took. That, and the fact that Natsu was clearly struggling with dealing with his traumatic memories, and he wouldn't even talk about it.

Unlocking the door, he pushed it open and kicked off his shoes, glancing around for Natsu. He found him curled up on the couch like a cat, his shoulder resting on the armrest and his eyes firmly trained on the book resting open in his lap.

Natsu glanced up at him and offered a smile before turning back to his book. Gray collapsed on the opposite end of the couch, pulling Natsu's legs into his lap. He yawned loudly and rested his head on the back of the couch, turning to look at Natsu. "What're you reading?"

"Gatsby," Natsu replied. "You have a lot of classics on your bookshelf."

Gray shrugged. "Eh, what can I say? Nobody ever wants to raid the classics section. I like to think I'm preserving them for the future generation."

Natsu sighed. "Future generation, huh? Not sure if there's gonna be one."

Swatting him on the shoulder, Gray said, "Oh, have some optimism."

"I _do_ have optimism," Natsu protested, frowning slightly.

"You tell yourself that," Gray said, patting him on the shoulder, standing. He stretched his arms over his head and yawned, flopping down on the bed. It was starting to get dark outside, the setting sun casting a warm golden glow across the desolate landscape, the sky tinged purple and a dark navy blue as a few faint stars began to shine.

"It's probably about time for dinner," he said offhandedly, glancing back at Natsu. He nodded. "Oh, yeah, you're right."

"Wanna go down?" Gray asked, pushing himself to a sitting position.

Natsu nodded and stood. "Sure. I'm starving."

Gray grinned and stood as well. "When are you not?"

* * *

When they reached the cafeteria, there was a few small conversations, most of them about the ongoing rain. Gray and Natsu stood in line, and Gray found himself glancing out the window with a slight frown. Where _was_ all that rain coming from? It hadn't rained like this in years.

They gathered their food and Gray started towards their typical table in the corner, a few steps ahead of Natsu. He set his tray down and started to sit, but then he realized that Natsu was still a few feet from the table, wavering, mid-step.

Gray stood up, taking a step away from the table and raising an eyebrow. "Coming, flame brain?"

Natsu's eyes met his for a few seconds, and for the first time Gray took his appearance in fully. Their were dark bags under his eyes, and his frame was gaunt, and skinnier than usual. His skin had lost its usual tan and was pale and tight across the bones of his face, and even his normally vibrant eyes seemed duller.

Gray frowned, taking a step toward him. "Hey, are you feeling okay?" He took another step, placing his hands on his hips. "If you're sick and you didn't tell me, I'll kick your ass."

Natsu blinked at him. Then two things happened. The first was that the tray slipped from Natsu's hand, causing a loud crash and stirring the conversation around them. The second was that his eyelids slipped closed and he fell to the side, landing sprawled out on the ground, his limbs in disarray.

Gray was beside him in a moment, along with a small crowd of others, murmuring worriedly. He slid a hand under Natsu's shoulders to support him and lifted his torso off the ground. When he saw the blood, he was immediately terrified, but let out a small breath of relief when he saw that it was just from a gash on his head. The relief was short-lived, however, because he realized that Natsu could have a concussion.

Ignoring all the, "What happened?"s, and the "Is he alright?"s, Gray scooped Natsu up bridal-style and turn towards the door. Suddenly, Lyon came jogging up to them, brows furrowed. He turned as people started following and glared to get them to back off before turning back to scurry after Gray.

"What happened?" he asked, falling in to step beside Gray.

"I don't know," Gray barked. He took a shaky breath. "I'm... sorry. I didn't mean to yell at you. I'm just... stressed."

Lyon patted him on the back, his mouth set in a grim but sympathetic line. "I'll go fetch his uncle while you take him to the infirmary."

"Thanks," Gray said feebly, and then Lyon was sprinting off, towards the stairs.

* * *

The infirmary was relatively empty when he stepped through the door, and Wendy was sitting at her desk, doing another crossword. She glanced up at him, her friendly smile quickly dropping into a worried frown when she saw Natsu. She pushed her chair back and hurried around to him, asking, "What happened?"

"I— I don't—" Gray took a deep breath to steady himself. "He just... collapsed." His voice cracked on the last word, and he cleared his throat. "Where should I put him?"

"Over here," Wendy said, clearing off a cot. Gray set Natsu down carefully, and couldn't resist brushing back stray strands of his hair before pulling away. Wendy was too busy to notice as she pulled out a flashlight, checking the batteries before coming back over. She pulled open his eyelid and shone the light at his pupil, before doing the same with the other. After that, she took his pulse, and listened to his heart.

"So?" Gray asked anxiously, crossing his arms and gripping his elbows tightly. "Is he okay?"

"His body is under extreme stress for some reason," Wendy said with a frown, her brows drawing together. "Tell me," she said, looking up at him, "has he had any problems sleeping lately?"

Gray tore a hand through his hair. "I— I... I don't know. I thought he looked tired earlier, but I didn't— I should've _realized_..."

Wendy rested a hand on his shoulder. "Shh. It wasn't your fault. It's not your fault he didn't tell you. He's a very self-reliant person."

Turning away, she grabbed an IV bag from the shelf. "His body needs to rest, to gain back strength. I'll put him on fluids for a few days, and then I want you to watch him carefully, and make sure he gets enough sleep."

Gray nodded weakly, his hand clenched into a fist. _I should've known... I should've_ seen _. Why didn't I_ see _?_

Atlas came running in then, breathing heavily. "What the _hell_ happened to my nephew?!"

* * *

 **A/N:** *laughs maniacally* Sorry guys. (Lol nah.) You'll just have to waiiiitttttt! (Ily guys, plez dun hurt meh ❤ ＾Ｕ＾)


	21. Sleep Heals The Body, And The Soul

**A/N:** Here's the next chapter! Hope you guys like it, and don't forget to leave a review and follow and favorite to show your love for me and the story c: And I know that you guys want insight on some of the other characters, like Lucy and Erza, and Lyon and Ultear, and trust me, it will come up soon :)

* * *

 **Chapter Twenty-One**

* * *

Before anyone could respond to Atlas' outburst, there was a groan, which drew everyone's attention back to Natsu. He moaned softly and opened his eyes, blinking a few times. Gray immediately reached for him to help him sit up, and Natsu held a hand to his head and blinked, wincing. "Wha—What happened? Why does my head hurt?"

"You fainted," Wendy said, standing at his other side. "Do you feel okay?"

"No," Natsu moaned, closing his eyes. "I feel dead."

Wendy sighed. "I'm surprised you're _not_ yet."

Atlas shook his head. "Jesus, kid. How much trouble do you get in around here?"

"A lot," Gray and Wendy said at the same time, sharing a look.

"Shuddup," Natsu complained weakly, waving an arm at them offhandedly. "I've only b'n in the inf'rm'ry a couple t'mes." He had started slurring his words, and his eyes drifted closed again. They snapped open a few minutes later, and Gray could see the frustration there. "Ugh, I like fuck."

Gray snorted out a laugh, despite the dire situation. "Um, what?"

"I feel shit this," Natsu moaned, covering his face with his arms.

Atlas laughed. "I think he's a bit delirious. This happened once before. Allow me to translate. He says; 'I feel like shit. Fuck this.'"

Gray nodded, biting back a smile and reminding himself to ask Atlas about the other time this had happened later. He was still worried, but less so now that the threat of serious injury was gone. Natsu had gotten in to a lot of trouble; a little sleep-deprivation was nothing to him. "Should we let him sleep, Wendy?"

The girl nodded. "Yeah. I'll stick an IV in him and you two can go continue eating, if you like. Or he might wake up in a few hours, so you could always come back in later." She said that last part with a pointed look in Gray's direction, as if she knew he wouldn't listen, but wanted him to rest a bit, anyway.

Gray shook his head, confirming her suspicions. "I don't know... I don't want to leave him here."

Wendy smiled and rested a hand on his shoulder. "Don't worry. I'll watch him. You can come back after you eat something."

"C'mon, kid," Atlas said, clapping a firm hand on his shoulder with a small smile. "Food'll do you some good."

Reluctantly, Gray nodded and allowed Atlas to tow him out of the infirmary and back towards the mess hall. When they entered, people glanced over at Gray worriedly, but Atlas' presence seemed to dissuade them from coming over to inquire about Natsu's condition, and soon the murmurs faded away again.

Gray was still dwelling heavily on the fact that he hadn't noticed Natsu's exhaustion. Well... He supposed he _had_ , in a way. He'd noticed that the other boy seemed slightly off in the previous days, but he had chalked it up to the run-in with Zeref, and hadn't bothered to really _look_ at him, and now Natsu was suffering because of it.

Seeming to read his mind, Atlas clasped his shoulder and shook him once, gently but firmly. " _Hey_ , this ain't your fault, kid. Natsu's always been an introvert; it's not surprising that he kept this from everyone." The man gave a slight laugh. "Sometimes, he seems to almost have a self-destruction complex."

"I know that, but..." Gray shook his head. "He should've told _me_ , at least... I mean, out of _anyone_... It's— It's complicated," he finished lamely, looking down at the table.

Atlas raised a slender red brow but otherwise said nothing. "Get some food, kid," was all he said. "You'll need it."

* * *

After he had eaten, Gray went back to the infirmary. He expected Atlas to come along, but the man shook his head with a wry smile and claimed he was going to bed early, and would visit Natsu in the morning. Gray was grateful for the privacy, and wasn't surprised when Wendy took off as soon as he arrived, off to eat while she had the chance to get away.

Sitting down in the now familiar chair by Natsu's bedside, Gray grabbed his hand and squeezed it. "Stupid," he said softly. "You're always running head-first in to trouble, without stopping to think of the consequences, or what will happen to _you_. Sometimes you really live up to your nickname, you know that, flame brain?"

Natsu's only response was the steady rise and fall of his chest, and Gray continued on. "You need to think about yourself once in a while." It felt kind of stupid, venting to someone who wasn't even awake to listen, but at the same time, it was a relief to get it all out. "I only just got you," Gray continued quietly. "I don't want to lose you."

He took a deep breath, nervous to say it, even though Natsu couldn't hear him. "I love you." Sometimes you had to learn to say the embarrassing things. They still held meaning, even though no one was listening.

* * *

 _I love you. I love you, I love you..._

Those three words echoed in Natsu's half-asleep brain, like the bright bursts of fireworks. He wanted to say it back, but he didn't want Gray to feel embarrassed, and his tongue felt thick and heavy with his mouth. Wendy must've given him a sedative with the fluids.

But just hearing them, and knowing that Gray was with him made Natsu feel a thousand times better. Suddenly, everything didn't seem as bleak as it had earlier, and Natsu felt heaps of stress stripped away, finally allowing him to sleep.

And for the first time in what felt like years, he didn't dream of anything.

* * *

Gray must've fallen asleep in the infirmary, because when he woke up, his head was resting on the edge of Natsu's bed, his arms supporting his chin. He blinked a few times and just lay there, basking in the sunlight now streaming through the windows.

He was faintly aware of a hand on his head, and he turned his head to find Natsu's fingers buried in his hair. He was still asleep, his face the picture of calm as his chest rose and fell rhythmically. The sunlight broke his hair into thousands of geometric shapes, all different shades of vibrant pink.

Gently, he removed Natsu's hand from his head and laced their fingers together instead, straightening and wincing as his back gave a loud _crack_. Looking around, he noticed that Wendy had left again, presumably to get breakfast. The door was open, and the hallway outside was empty.

"What time is it?" Gray muttered to himself, wiping his eyes with his free hand and wishing for the millionth time that iPhones still worked so he could check the damn time without having to go down to look at the sundial in the courtyard, and maybe play fucking Candy Crush, if he had some free time.

But, of course, iPhones didn't work, and probably never would again. Shame, really. But at least no more Samsungs would combust and kill people via fiery explosion.

Wendy came walking in then, carrying a small basket with food. Gray quickly pulled his hand from Natsu's and straightened slightly. When she saw that Gray was awake, Wendy smiled at him. "Oh, you're awake. I brought some food for you."

"Thanks, Wen," Gray said with a smile as Wendy walked over and handed him an apple, protein bar, and bottle of water. She nodded and went back to sit at her desk, tapping her pen in a constant _tap-tap_ , pause, _tap-tap-tap_ rhythm as she pulled out a crossword and started to work on it.

Gray found himself studying Natsu while he ate. The bags around his eyes had lessened, and his face was relaxed, his breathing even and steady. A bit of color had returned to his cheeks, and the only thing noticeable was that he was still very thin, but Gray didn't worry about that too much; apparently it ran in the family, seeing as how Atlas was just as willowy as his nephew.

"Hey, Gray," Wendy said, prompting Gray to look over at her, "I forgot to tell you earlier, but Makarov wants to see both you and Natsu as soon as he's recovered."

Gray nodded wordlessly, slightly relieved. Maybe Makarov had a plan to get rid of Zeref once and for good. If he did, it would certainly be a relief to have that psycho off their tails. Plus, maybe they coudl get their hands on some of Zeref's artillery and territory. It would definitely come in handy.

Natsu made a sound halfway between a sneeze and a sigh, and his eyelids fluttered open. Gray immediately leaned forward and grabbed his hand without thinking, not caring if Wendy noticed. "Natsu, you're awake!"

"That's debatable," Natsu replied through a loud yawn, blinking slowly several times. "Where am I? What time is it?"

"You're in the infirmary," Wendy—who had walked over to stand by his side—answered. "And it's near seven, I think."

Natsu sat up with—to Gray's relief—sat up fairly easily, stretching his legs so his toes stuck out of the blanket Wendy had placed over him. "When can I go?"

"Maybe later today, if you sit still and absorb the fluids for a while," Wendy replied, tapping the IV bag with her finger for emphasis. Natsu pouted, making Gray smile to himself. Seeing him frowning, Wendy rolled her eyes. "Fine, I tell you what. You can get up and walk around as long as you hold on to the IV stand and don't exert yourself."

Natsu nodded happily. "Right, of course!" He swung his leg over the edge of the bed and stumbled a bit as he took a shaky step. Gray steadied him as the blood rushed back to his head, and Natsu took a few more experimental steps before he regained his balance.

"Be careful," Wendy warned as they left. "Gray, look after him. And stick to the first floor!" she called after them as they walked down the hallway, and Natsu smiled back at her. "Relax, Wendy! I'll be fine!"

"You always say that," Wendy muttered, pinching the bridge of her nose before she turned away, disappearing from the doorway. Natsu and Gray shared a look and burst out laughing before continuing down the hall.

* * *

Natsu walked ahead of Gray, holding his left arm to the side like a wing as he walked along the hallway, clutching the IV pole with his other hand. He was wearing a black tank-top with a band logo on the front; one he'd pillaged from a store ages ago.

It felt great to be up and walking around again, and all the dizziness and fatigue from before had completely disappeared. He actually felt pretty energetic. He hummed the tune of "Stereo Hearts" under his breath, and made a beeline for the front doors. Suddenly remembering Atlas, he asked, "Hey, where's my uncle?"

He turned to see Gray frowning. "Hmmm... Actually, now that you mention it, he said he was coming to visit you this morning."

"Oh, that explains it," Natsu said, turning back around. "Morning to him is ten thirty or later."

Gray chuckled. "I guess you both like to sleep."

Natsu shot a playful glare at him and broke into a grin. Pushing open the front door, he breathed in the fresh morning air and let out a happy sigh. "Ah, it feels good to feel the sun on my face again!" He walked further out and watched through the gate as a few Zs wandered around, bumping into the fence. Natsu's finger twitched, itching to pull a trigger.

Seeming to read his intentions, Gray grabbed him by the collar and pulled him back. "Oh, don't even think about it. You're resting for at _least_ two more days before I let you snipe again."

"Geez, mom," Natsu said, crossing his arms and smirking at the other boy.

Gray met Natsu's smirk with one of his own, leaning close to his ear to whisper, "I mean it. Don't make me punish you."

Natsu blushed and pulled back, holding a hand to his face to conceal the redness of his cheeks. "No fair..." he muttered, making Gray laugh. "I have to be better than you at _something_ ," he teased, and Natsu flicked him lightly in the shoulder. "You're better at lost of things."

"Oh?" Gray asked, raising an eyebrow. "What?"

"Thinking before you act," Natsu said, clasping his hands behind his back and kicking at a rock on the ground. "Talking, fighting, using your brain, flirting."

Gray laughed again, and Natsu's heart grew lighter at the sound.

"Oh yeah!" he said, starting. He turned around and threw his arms around Gray. He pulled back and smiled brightly at him. "I love you too, Gray!"

* * *

 **A/N:** Not a lot of action this chapter. Mostly fluff / recovery stuff XD Don't worry. Next chapter things will be happenin'! And hopefully I'll explore the other characters a bit, along the way.


End file.
